Understand, US Foreign Policy in Five Doctrines, 3. The Nixon Doctrine

Understand

US Foreign Policy in Five Doctrines

3. The Nixon Doctrine

21 January 2026

14 minutes

Available for over a year

Justin Webb looks back at the five big US foreign policy shifts from the Monroe Doctrine to Donald Trump. Over five episodes he and his guests look at how America’s approach to the world has constantly changed over time. This may help answer a really big question - how radical is the way Donald Trump deals with the world? Is he really an outlier in US history? Or do his actions reflect the changing patterns of American power?

In this episode Justin discusses the Nixon Doctrine with Professor Douglas Brinkley, who's the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University in Texas.

Presenter: Justin Webb

Producers: Caroline Bayley and Kirsteen Knight

Researcher: Helena Warwick-Cross

Editor: Jon Bithrey

Sound engineer: Dave O'Neill

Credit: Nixon’s Silent Majority Speech/Richard Nixon Foundation


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