Isolation may be impractical, but its appeal is very understandable. In this article, originally published on June 14, 1943, in Christianity and Crisis, Charles Gilkey presents six influences upon this school of thought, and emphasizes the importance of giving primacy to the opinion of returning veterans in defining future U.S. foreign policy.

From the ashes of both Bryan’s ignoble isolationism and Wilson’s utopian universalism rose the school of Christian realism advocated by Reinhold Niebuhr.

The foreign policies of Teddy Roosevelt and his distant cousin Franklin D. Roosevelt represent an intersection between two different Protestant worldviews.

The much-maligned League of Nations experienced difficulties and shortcomings, which are visible in the functioning of the modern UN – and to a lesser extent, the International Criminal Court. George Stewart provides no less than thirteen reasons for the League’s failure, foremost among them the United States’ refusal to join, despite President Wilson’s labors as the prime architect. Stewart’s criticism of the League’s weaknesses, in its simultaneous impotence and incompetence, serves as a reminder for the need of robust, yet practical, international structures.

In nearly every war both sides point to the offenses and wickedness of their enemies, hoping to solidify that they are on the side of morality and godliness and to justify their decision to fight. The Axis Powers of World War II undoubtedly had perverse and wicked aims, but in this article Eduard Heimann argues that the democracies, and particularly the Christians living within them, deserve blame for the war as well.

Earlier this week a former CIA officer suspected of helping China “neutralize U.S. spying operations on its soil” was arrested and charged with violating the Espionage Act. Here is what you should know about the Espionage Act, one of the most controversial laws in American history.

On January 8, 1918 – a century ago today – President Woodrow Wilson mounted the rostrum of the U.S. House of Representatives, America’s inner sanctum of democracy, to deliver one of the most consequential speeches in history.

Here are some books I enjoyed over the past year: American Lady: The Life of Susan Mary Alsop By Caroline…

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s Protestant rectitude informs his sense of America’s dutiful vocation in the world premised on: “Liberty, equality, and human dignity.”