About the Group
The U.S. Foreign Policy and Liberalism (USLIB) research group at Leiden University studies the relationship between America's values and its foreign policy. It asks big questions about the direction of contemporary U.S. foreign policy and the relationship between domestic politics and foreign affairs and then communicates the answers to scholars and a wide range of societal stakeholders.
USLIB's approach means, as Paul W. Kahn once argued, "putting liberalism in its place" – understanding that a liberal view of politics and international affairs is just one of the many traditions which have influenced U.S. foreign policy. Projecting that realization back into the past means calling into question the idea of uncomplicated U.S. support for a "liberal international order." Projecting it into the future means having a more realistic basis for understanding the challenges that the United States and the world will face, as well as possible solutions to them.
USLIB was originally funded by an NWO Vidi grant of nearly €1m. Since then, it has grown into a more sizeable project which hosts researchers from around the world and has attracted additional funding. Researchers, policymakers or anybody else interested in collaborating with USLIB should contact group leader Andrew Gawthorpe.