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What was Cold War liberalism? What is its lasting significance? Does it live on as a zombie ideology?

In this episode, historians Daniel Bessner and Michael Brenes trace the origins of this powerful ideology to the 1930s and 40s. It soon reached the apogee of its influence, only to decline after the tragedy of Vietnam. As Americans today grapple with the disastrous consequences of decades of military adventurism, they might find some answers in Cold War liberalism, which shaped U.S. foreign policy as the country emerged from the Second World War a superpower.

Daniel Bessner teaches history at the University of Washington and cohosts American Prestige podcast.

Michael Brenes is Co-Director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy and Lecturer in History at Yale University.

Recommended reading:

Cold War Liberalism: Power in a Time of Emergency edited by Daniel Bessner and Michael Brenes