Hard Line – The Republican Party and U.S. Foreign Policy since World War II

"A lucid, provocative, deeply learned account of contemporary Republican foreign policy from one of America's best young diplomatic historians. If today's conservatives want to move beyond the foreign-policy failures of the Bush era, they should start by reading Dueck's book."--Peter Beinart, author of The Good Fight: Why Liberals--and Only Liberals--Can Win the War on Terror and Make America Great Again

"Colin Dueck notes that foreign policy is made by presidents, not intellectuals, and he is right. But his smart, lively new book shows what intellectuals can add to the discussion: sharp, honest analysis that uncovers the reality behind the rhetoric. Hard Line is more than a masterful guide to Republican thinking and practice over the last century--it is a major contribution to the literature on American foreign policy in general."--Gideon Rose, managing editor of Foreign Affairs

"Dueck has written a clear, persuasive, and important study of Republican foreign policy. Neither an apologist nor a reflexive critic, he examines the various strands that exist within what he describes as a 'hawkish nationalist' bent. He knows that ideas are one thing, implementation and the cut and thrust of policy quite another. A major contribution to our understanding of the last six decades of American foreign policy--and, one suspects, several more to come."--Eliot A. Cohen, Johns Hopkins University

"This book provides an excellent overview of the changes in conservative thinking on foreign policy by looking at the leading figures in each successive era, from Robert Taft to George W. Bush. The prose flows beautifully, and Dueck is admirably objective in his assessments of these individuals. An extremely valuable study."--James M. Goldgeier, George Washington University

"An engaging, important, and timely study, Hard Line offers the best coverage of this period of Republican foreign policy I have seen. Through meticulous research, Dueck demonstrates the coherence and diversity of a uniquely conservative view of international affairs just at the moment when the Republican Party is reexamining and debating its foreign policy agenda for the future."--Henry R. Nau, George Washington University