Why America Does Not Feel At Home Abroad

Historically, America stays engaged in the world only under threat, as it is doing now to fight terrorism. But once the threat recedes, America cycles between reform (e.g. Bill Clinton's nation-building) and withdrawal (e.g. George W. Bush's original "more humble" foreign policy). Will it cycle again, attacking the roots of terrorism but overreaching and then retreating to homeland defense? In his new book, At Home Abroad: Identity and Power in American Foreign Policy, Nau explores the role of America's relative identity, not just its relative power, in explaining how America might feel more "at home abroad", ending the cycling between overreach and pullback.

Participants

• Henry R Nau
  Professor of Political Science and International Affairs,
  Elliott School of International Affairs,
  George Washington University