American Leadership Policy Studies and Research | Leadership for America

American Leadership

The freedom and security of Americans depend on America's global leadership.
Learn More... Statement of Purpose Without American leadership the world will become a more dangerous place – for Americans and for freedom. If left unchecked, the growing dangers will only get worse and may reach the point where America’s very existence is at stake. Transnational terrorism, rampant anti-Americanism, unaccountable international institutions, nuclear proliferation, and regional conflict all represent real threats to peace and prosperity. We can deal with these grim challenges. Just as The Heritage Foundation helped devise the strategies and plans to win the Cold War, it can and should do the same with respect to helping America win the global war of ideas for freedom and security.

It will be Heritage’s mission to carry forward the legacies of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher by devising and promoting new strategies and policy recommendations for the 21st Century. In this new era, it will be crucial for the United States to prevail in the ideological battle against radical Islam and the resurgence of leftist populism and other ant-American forces, create alternatives to the United Nations, and spread and institutionalize global economic and political freedoms around the world. What is required is a coherent overarching blueprint that identifies the sources of anti-Americanism and the lack of confidence and coherence in U.S. leadership here at home, while also outlining the political, diplomatic, economic, and military instruments that are needed to overcome these obstacles and reassert the nations global leadership role. These solutions must be grounded in the First Principles of the Constitution and its intent of safeguarding and advancing the cause of freedom.

START Follow-On Treaty Could Interfere with Conventional Strike Systems

November 19, 2009

Early indications are that the successor to the START treaty will limit U.S. options to field conventionally armed missiles -- something Congress warned the Administration not to do.

By Baker Spring

Trade Dispute Undercuts Obama's Korea Trip

November 17, 2009

It is increasingly obvious that the Obama Administration is willing to sacrifice the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement on the altar of auto-sector protectionism.

By Bruce Klingner

The Three Reaffirms: Suggested Agenda for President Obama's Visit to China

November 13, 2009

President Obama should use this week's trip to China to reaffirm three major American principles.

By Dean Cheng

President Obama Has a Full Plate in First Visit to China

November 12, 2009

President Obama's visit to China comes during a period of substantial and possibly growing economic tension.

By Derek Scissors, Ph.D

A Meaningful Agenda for President Obama's Meeting with Southeast Asian Leaders

November 10, 2009

When he meets with ASEAN leaders this week, President Obama needs to make substantive progress on several pressing issues: free trade, Burma, and the rise of China.

By Walter Lohman

More Research...

O's China Kowtow

November 20, 2009

If you were troubled by President Obama's "Wow Bow" in Japan, you won't be any happier with the "kowtow" during his just-concluded trip to the People's Republic of China.

By Peter Brookes

Obama Has Achieved Nothing on the World Stage

November 20, 2009

No American president has spent more time abroad in his first year in office than Barack Obama. His trip to Asia this week is his 8th foreign tour, taking the total number of countries visited to 20.

By Nile Gardiner

Last year's U.S. presidential election sparked international euphoria. Americans had chosen the "anti-Bush"! The jubilation overseas reflected a belief that, as president, Barack Obama would think less like an American and more like the rest of the world.

By Helle Dale

Reagan and the Fall of the Berlin Wall

November 10, 2009

For years, it has been the fashion in many ideological precincts to argue the collapse of the Soviet Union -- at more or less the moment it disintegrated -- was due almost entirely to Communism's structural weaknesses, and not to anything the West may have done to hasten its demise. In this view, while the two factions may have been at war for decades, the final result was not victory for one side so much as abdication by the other.

By Edwin J. Meese III