Location: The Heritage Foundation's Allison Auditorium
In the annals of United States history, war often has served as
the catalyst for fundamental transformations of American grand
strategy. Not surprisingly, the War on Terror has triggered a
passionate debate about the purposes of American power and
America's role in the world. But it has also given rise to the Bush
Doctrine of the preemptive use of force and democratic regime
change. Are these new ideas consistent with the first principles of
American foreign policy? Looking at the long traditions of American
diplomatic history and the prudential grounds of statecraft,
Kaufman strives to reconnect the current foreign policy debate to
America's past and to consider the implications of this new
doctrine - consistent with what he calls prudential democratic
realism - for the future.
Robert G. Kaufman is a professor of public policy at Pepperdine
University. He is the author of Henry M. Jackson: A Life in
Politics and is currently completing a biography of Ronald
Reagan.
More About the Speakers
Robert G. Kaufman, J.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Public Policy,
Pepperdine University
Hosted By
Matthew Spalding, Ph.D.
Vice President, American Studies and Director, B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics
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