Dr Charles Miller on Public Opinion and Foreign Policy

Increasing attention is being paid to the role public opinion plays in shapng foreign policy. Would US governments have remained in Vietnam, except for the humiliation of conceding defeat? How is the current American partisanship affecting the way Washington DC approaches the world? How can education affect the public's attitude towards international issues?

Dr Charles Miller, lecturer in strategic studies at the Australian National University, studies this intersection between public opinion and foreign policymaking. In early 2018, he spoke with AIIA National Office Intern, Zoe Halstead, about why it's important to consider public opinion when assessing foreign policy, with a focus on recent developments in the US and Australia.