Abiding Influence unearths the processes underpinning the relationship between nationalism and the formulation of US foreign policy, highlighting the centrality of leaders’ nationalist beliefs in the history of America’s international behavior. Drawing on extensive original archival research, this book shows how presidents’ nationalist beliefs influenced distinct foreign policy attitudes that characterized key foreign policy decisions and turning points in the Asia Pacific. Paparella makes a strong case for looking at this history as a complex succession of interactions—between states, but also between leaders—that are highly contingent and shaped by the different nationalist views of the leading US decision-makers overtime. This thoughtful study provides a new historical interpretation of the multifaceted role of the US in the Asia Pacific.

“The Asia Pacific has been vital to understanding American ideas of nation and nationalism for over a century. Using archival evidence and IR theory, Giuseppe Paparella’s excellent book shows that the views of US presidents were shaped by the changing relationship with crises and changes with the region. This book gives the deep background that helps us understand why Asia remains crucial to US policymaking today.”

— Rana Mitter, Harvard University

“In Abiding Influence, Giuseppe Paparella applies psychological and sociological principles to articulate his novel nationalist beliefs theory for a new interpretation of US foreign policy patterns in the Asia Pacific. This book will contribute to a more thought-provoking debate over the past and present frameworks of US engagement in this region.”

— Simei Qing, Michigan State University

“Giuseppe Paparella has produced a stimulating and significant book. Ambitious in scope and based on an impressive amount of research, this book examines a series of key moments spanning seventy-five years to cogently show how four very different presidents’ national beliefs shaped their policy toward the Asia Pacific region. A must-read for both historians and theorists.”

— Steven Casey, London School of Economics