American foreign policy has rarely been more complicated. With the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the rising threat of China, the continuing instability of the Middle East, and a growing disaster at our undefended southern border, the country faces an unprecedented diversity of challenges.
At the same time, we are in the midst of a crisis of leadership. Congress has relinquished much of its authority to entities that have little accountability to the American people: the administrative state and the military-industrial complex. This abdication of authority has had many detrimental effects on foreign policy, effectively outsourcing momentous decisions regarding national security, foreign relations, and even waging war to unaccountable bureaucrats and interested corporations.
Since its founding in 2002, The American Conservative has been the leading voice for a genuinely conservative foreign policy that places America’s interests first, and aims to promote prudence, realism, and restraint.
The magazine has sought to amplify the prescient warnings of our founder, Patrick J. Buchanan, both in light of the recklessness exhibited by the foreign policy establishment and the malign influence of so-called conservatives who pushed the country into imprudent nation-building projects, costing much American blood and treasure with little to show for it.
For many decades conservatives who questioned the trajectory of the interventionist foreign policy preferred by the establishment were marginalized, with little institutional standing and even fewer elected officials representing them at the national level.
In recent years, however, the momentum on the American right has shifted. A growing cohort of members of Congress are promoting a realist, restrained, “America First” approach to foreign policy. And they seek to reassert Congressional authority to once again give Americans a voice in the policies that represent our country to the world.
On June 8 on Capitol Hill, we will bring together many of these members to chart a course for the 118th Congress and, more broadly, the future of American foreign policy.
Speakers will include many of the senators and representatives at the forefront of articulating and promoting a foreign policy that promotes American interests over quixotic adventurism abroad.
We will hear from Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a longtime veteran of and leader in the fight for a more sensible approach to international relations.
We’ll also be joined by Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who has been a strong proponent of congressional authority and an opponent of the recklessness that has characterized much of our policymaking—including foreign policy—in recent years.
Ohio’s Representative Warren Davidson will be with us to discuss his recent piece published in our pages “Toward a Realist American Grand Strategy” and to detail his vision for the future of American strategy.
And we will hear from Representatives Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Eli Crane of Arizona, and Matt Gaetz of Florida, who led the opposition to the recent ill-considered—and incredibly costly—aid to Ukraine. They will give their thoughts on how Congress can restore sanity and accountability to our international relations.
For more information and to register, visit the event page here.
We look forward to seeing you there.
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