The effect of foreign visits in U.S. leadership and foreign policy

What is it about?

In the context of global foreign policy, how have post-9/11 U.S. public diplomacy efforts successfully improved foreign publics’ appraisals of U.S. foreign policy? This research finds broadly that visits to foreign countries have a positive effect on attitudes towards U.S. policy in foreign countries despite some caveats such as media reporting.

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Photo by Leonardo Silva on Unsplash

Photo by Leonardo Silva on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This research finds ultimately that U.S. leaders’ credibility in the eyes of foreign publics is critical in shaping attitudes toward U.S. foreign policy. It is thus important to note that these visits can be highly positive acts of policy, but can be negated once international media reports negative aspects such as the U.S. "war on terror".