Independent America

Independent America, a multi-year research project led by IGA senior fellow Mark Hannah, seeks to explore how US foreign policy could be tailored better to new global realities and to the preferences of American voters. Since the end of the Cold War, our political leaders have largely adhered to what has been called an “Indispensable America” worldview in which the United States plays a dominant role in maintaining global stability. US elected officials continue to fund small wars, arms sales, and troop deployments which are often counterproductive to the country’s long-term interests, security, and prosperity. Our research shows substantially more public support for an “Independent America” worldview, a more restrained and less interventionist foreign policy.

Partial funding for this on-going effort is generously provided by Stand Together Trust.


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The Other Southern Border: Cuba’s Maritime Exodus and America’s Immigration Dilemma

EVENT: Understanding US Sanctions: Is it a Winning Policy?

The Real Reason Ukraine Isn’t Ready to Join NATO

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Washington Should Divide, Not Unite, Russia and China

Hamstrung: Sources of and Solutions for Political-Military Mismatch

The US and its Faux ‘Rules-Based Order’

IGA senior fellow Mark Hannah joined MSNBC’s “Chris Jansing Reports” on July 10, 2023

Zuri Linetsky appeared on Radio Taiwan International’s The Strait Up Podcast on June 30, 2023

China Can’t Catch a Break in Asian Public Opinion

China in Context: What drives the US Republican Party’s agenda on China?

Blinken and Xi seek stability with Asian countries on edge

IGA senior fellow Mark Hannah joined CNBC’s “SQUAWK BOX ASIA” on June 13, 2023

Zuri Linetsky appeared on Voice of America on June 7, 2023

IGA senior fellow Mark Hannah joined MSNBC’s “Way Too Early” on June 6, 2023

China in Context: Canda’s Clashes with China

IGA Research Fellow on Bloomberg Daybreak: Australia

What Are Sanctions and How Do They Work? A History of US Economic Sanctions

China in Context: Can the yuan challenge the dollar as a global currency?

Leveraging Climate Finance for the Global South

China in Context: China’s growing influence in the Middle East

China in Context: China’s politics in 2023

IGA Research Fellow Zuri Linetsky on TRT World

IGA senior fellow Mark Hannah joins MSNBC’s “Way Too Early,” on March 21, 2023

China in Context: China’s environmental dilemma

Symposium: Aside from Bush & Cheney who is at fault for the Iraq War?

New York Times Op-Docs: The Army We Had

Biden Should Listen to Zelenskyy on China

China in Context: China’s role in Africa

China in Context: Can China match America’s soft power?

Mark Hannah on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, February 20, 2023

Straight Talk on the Country’s War Addiction

The Difference between an Ally and a Partner

On Target: Jessica Trisko Darden on Reframing Gender and Political Violence

IGA Research Fellow Zuri Linetsky on China in Context

Symposium: Have US military programs made African countries less safe?

Mark Hannah on China in Context

On Target: David Arceneaux on Nuclear Command and Control

Revisiting the Supposed Success of Plan Colombia

On Target: Rachel Tecott on Bureaucratic Pathologies in American Military Aid

Mark Hannah on The World

US Industry can Save Congo’s Rainforest

The U.S-Saudi Relationship Is Overrated

Americans Support Biden’s Response to the Ukraine War But Worry About Nuclear Escalation

Mark Hannah on SiriusXM POTUS

The US’ Democracy Problem

Zuri Linetsky on The China Project’s “Live with Lizzi Lee”

Caroline Gray on Crashing the War Party

On Target: Aroop Mukharji on McKinley, Asia, and America’s Rise as a Great Power

A New Framework for US-Mexico Relations?

Space: The Final Frontier—or the Last Battlespace?

It’s time to negotiate with ‘terrorists’ in Somalia

The West Can’t Afford to Be Dependent on Petrostates

Nuclear Risks: Russia’s Ukraine War Could End in Disaster

It’s time for a US push to end the war in Ukraine

IGA’s Independent America Project Speaks with the John Quincy Adams Society

Mark Hannah on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, June 16, 2022

America’s Example Looms Large in Brazil Presidential Election

Mark Hannah on The World

Discussing the Shades Of Gray Within Conflicts

US should invest in relationships, not more guns

Germany’s Identity Crisis: European Security After Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Why Is the Wartime Press Corps So Hawkish?

Ukraine, Russia, and the United States

How Biden’s 2009 Speech on NATO Solidarity Foreshadowed the Ukraine-Russia Crisis

Urban warfare fueled by the West will likely destroy Ukraine’s cities

The U.S. Shouldn’t Interfere While Putin Loses in Ukraine

The Great Power of Ukraine

Veterans Day 2021: Troops Are Out of Afghanistan, But the U.S. Is Still at War

EVENT: IGA discusses new report on Americans’ views on US foreign policy

Mark Hannah on Newsy

Is America’s Period of Relentless War Really Over

Why we should put a freeze on Arctic militarization

IGA shares global public opinion research with The Atlantic Council

The Real “China Challenge” Facing the US

Unlikely Alliance: The Emerging Anti-War Coalition in Congress

The Perils of America’s Posture

Want to Compete with China? Deliver on Climate Security for the Indo-Pacific

Who Declares War?

If Americans want lasting peace in Afghanistan, we should leave by May 1

An aerial view of the Pentagon

Will Biden Kick the Country’s Defense Spending Habit?

Why Is It So Tough to Leave Afghanistan?

In Afghanistan, exit is only ‘responsible’ option

Why Biden should not support Georgia’s ascension to NATO

‘The system worked as designed’ is bad news

Through the Eyes of Others

America’s Other “Endless War”: What the US Can Learn from its Experience in Vietnam

Americans’ dwindling belief in American exceptionalism

The New US-China Contest For Influence in Asia

Biden, Trump and our forever wars: We must press the candidates to make good on a critical commitment

America’s image around the world is being tarnished by the violent federal response in Portland

The true cost of a new confrontation with China

A Look Back at America’s First “Regime Change” War: The Philippines

Does US Support Help or Hurt Hong Kong Democracy?

Take China Seriously, Not Literally

After the Coronavirus, Don’t Repeat 9/11’s Mistakes

How American exceptionalism is making the coronavirus crisis worse

Stop Declaring War on a Virus

Will America’s Coronavirus Response Inspire Countries to Follow China’s Model?

No, Americans don’t need to present a united front on foreign policy

It’s Not Just Trump. The American People Are Skeptical of NATO, Too.

Trump is Impeachable But so is US Foreign Policy

IGA Opinion Video Featured on the New York Times Homepage

Here’s one way Democrats can defeat Trump: be radically anti-war

From Venezuela to Iran, Putting America First Appeals to Both Republicans and Democrats

Worlds Apart, Part 1

Worlds Apart, Part 2

Afghanistan may be a mess if US troops leave; they should leave anyway. Trump is right.

Trump’s support for Saudi Arabia contradicts the CIA, subverts national security and puts millions of lives at risk

A new era demands new ‘isms’

From Fire and Fury to Flattery

Did Trump just Destroy NATO? If so, Should We Care?

US military should fight enemies, not detain immigrants

A brighter future for all