An Oral History of the Progressive Foreign Policy Moment (and what comes next) | Ep. 257

What is progressive foreign policy and what are its roots? The New Left’s struggles against racism, militarism, and imperialism were the real origins of what we call progressive foreign policy today. In this special oral history episode, I tell the story of progressive foreign policy and where it could be headed. Key moments in that history include:

Opposition to Cold War liberalism;

Advocacy for the Nuclear Freeze Movement in the 1980s;

How Democratic Party foreign policy became so hawkish during the Global War on Terror and the Obama presidency;

The role of Bernie Sanders and (opposition to) Trumpism in bringing to life a new anti-imperialism; and

My personal role in becoming a major voice in the “progressive foreign policy moment.”

I also reflect on the populism and socialist candidates carrying forward radical new visions of what the world requires of US foreign policy today. The emerging class of politicians—Graham Planter, Zohran Mamdani, Kat Abughazaleh, Kyle Blomquist, William Lawrence, and many others—are its next-generation organic champions.

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