After the violent riots on Capitol Hill last Wednesday left America’s democratic institutions shaken, foreign policy leaders in Washington grappled with America’s credibility on the world stage. The next day, the Atlantic Council’s Emma Ashford wrote a provocative piece in Foreign Policy arguing, “It’s a sign of how broken U.S. foreign-policy debates are that the primary reaction from many commentators was to worry about America’s moral authority and global leadership.” 

Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah spoke with Emma about her frustrations with the foreign policy community’s response. Emma argues that America must first shore up its ability to protect democracy at home before trying to promote it abroad.

Emma Ashford is a resident senior fellow with the New American Engagement Initiative in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council and a columnist at Foreign Policy. @EmmaMAshford