Foreign Policy

The United States needs a strong military to keep the nation safe. But our foreign policy relies too often on the use of military force — asking our service members to do too much in too many places. This approach undermines our security and saps our strength. U.S. foreign policy should be characterized by a grand strategy of realism and restraint, free trade, and diplomacy focused on articulating — but not imposing — liberal values and the advantages of a society of equal rights and mutual benefit.

Developing and applying a better grand strategy will make the United States safer, secure the conditions of our prosperity, and protect our liberal democratic system here at home. It is also vitally important that our veterans, who have sacrificed so much implementing our country’s foreign policy, do not suffer from internal and external barriers inhibiting the realization of their potential.

Our foreign policy should be based on facts and reasoned, scientific inquiry, not idealistic assumptions about the world. We support scholars who conduct rigorous research to identify and evaluate optimal policy solutions.