Mark Tooley

Mark Tooley is IRD’s president and editor of IRD’s foreign policy and national security journal, Providence. Prior to joining the IRD in 1994, Mark worked eight years for the Central Intelligence Agency. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and is a native of Arlington, Virginia. He is the author of Taking Back The United Methodist Church, published in 2008; Methodism and Politics in the 20th Century, published in 2012; and The Peace That Almost Was: The Forgotten Story of the 1861 Washington Peace Conference and the Final Attempt to Avert the Civil War, published in 2015.

Follow Mark on Twitter: @markdtooley

All Author Content

Author Articles

Author Podcasts

Author Videos

Ep. 102 | After Two Years of War, a Chance for Peace?

On the second anniversary of the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, the Provcrew sits down to review Donald Trump’s proposal for ending the war.

Ep. 101 | So Reinhold Niebuhr and John Wesley Walk into a Bar…

Can you be a Wesleyan Protestant and a Christian realist? Mark Tooley, an ardent Methodist, and Robert Nicholson discuss this question on the latest Provcast

Ep. 100 | Recovering ‘Hebraic Mortar’ to Patch Crumbling Foundations

The shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk is a wakeup call for Americans of every stripe. What is happening to our society? How can we fix it—and where do we start?

Ep. 96 | The West and Weapons of Mass Destruction 80 Years after Hiroshima

The Providence editors discuss the meaning of “Western Civilization” and the legacy of Hiroshima, 80 years later

Episode 92 | Is America Betraying Middle East Christians?

The Provcast team interview Rich Ghazal, Executive Director of In Defense of Christians, to discuss the question of Christian persecution as it relates to US foreign policy

Episode 91 | Is Israel’s Fight for Survival also America’s Fight?

Dr. Farhad Rezaei joins the Provcast to discuss the hard questions around the Israel-Iran conflict, including escalation, American involvement, and regime change

Episode 90 | Is There a Trump Doctrine? And What Just Happened in Ukraine

Editors Marc LiVecche, Mark Tooley and Robert Nicholson discuss Trump’s May Middle East trip and Ukraine’s recent drone attacks on Russia’s strategic bombers

Episode 87 | Of American Popes and American Power in a Multipolar Age

Editors James Diddams, Marc LiVecche, Mark Tooley and Robert Nicholson discuss Pope Francis’ legacy, Trump’s recent trip to the Middle East, and the idea of “spheres of influence” in US grand strategy

Foreign Policy Provcast, Episode 86 | Providence Magazine’s 10th Anniversary

Providence editors Mark Tooley, Marc LiVecche, James Diddams, and Robert Nicholson discuss the past and future of Providence as the magazine’s 10th anniversary comes up