I am a scholar whose research focuses on the modern and contemporary United States. Though a historian by training, my work engages with insights from other disciplines, particularly international relations and American politics. I am currently the principal investigator on the NWO Vidi-funded project "American foreign policy and liberalism". This project challenges the notion of an American-created "liberal international order" by investigating how the American approach to international order has been shaped by illiberal ideologies, such as those underpinning racism at home or imperialism abroad. I write widely for popular media as well as academic publications and host a podcast about American politics, foreign policy and culture called America Explained. I am also a member of the Young Academy Leiden. I previously held a research fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School, a teaching fellowship at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, and a civil service appointment in the British Cabinet Office.

More information about Andrew Gawthorpe

Research

I am a scholar of modern American history and foreign policy. While my work is mainly historical in nature, it is driven by a fascination with how the contemporary is shaped by the past. I engage with insights from nearby disciplines such as international relations and American politics in order to better understand the modern and contemporary United States.

I am currently the principal investigator on the NWO Vidi-funded project "American foreign policy and liberalism". This project challenges the notion of an American-created "liberal international order" by investigating how the American approach to international order has been shaped by illiberal ideologies, such as those underpinning racism at home or imperialism abroad.

I have published extensively on America's engagement in overseas counterinsurgency and nation-building, including a book on the Vietnam War, To Build as well as Destroy: The American Experience of Nation-Building in South Vietnam, available from Cornell University Press. My published articles have considered the war from a variety of angles, including as an episode in the history of international economic development.

My research has been published in The Washington Quarterly, The International History Review, The Historical Journal, The Journal of Cold War Studies, The Journal of Strategic Studies, and Small Wars & Insurgencies.

I am a passionate teacher and public communicator. In 2019, I received the Institute for History’s biannual teaching prize, the Carla Musterd Award. I was also previously nominated twice for the teaching prize of the Faculty of Humanities. I consider public communication to be a vital part of a scholar’s role and frequently publish opinion pieces and op-eds. My writing has been published on every continent, including in The Guardian, Foreign Affairs, The Los Angeles Times, and many more outlets.  I also host a podcast called America Explained which explores topics in American politics and foreign policy through interviews and reporting.

Prior to arriving at Leiden, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Harvard Kennedy School, a Teaching Fellow at the UK Defence Academy, and a civil servant in the British Cabinet Office. I received my graduate training at the University of Cambridge and King’s College London.

Activities