A sharp analysis of the propaganda partnerships between US presidents and private organizations that fueled the Cold War and paved the way for the War on Terror.
How do US presidents motivate public support for their foreign policy agendas, which so often start out running counter to public opinion? The President’s Echo System details how successive administrations have collaborated with outside groups to popularize ideas that voters initially reject. Chad Levinson shows how these collaborations have shaped all of the most consequential US foreign policy programs of the past century, from participation in World War II and the establishment of the United Nations to the wars in Vietnam and Iraq.
The relationship between private interests and public officials is typically understood as coercive, with nongovernmental actors using wealth and media access to pressure civic leaders. Upending conventional wisdom, Levinson argues that these relationships are in fact symbiotic. Administrations of both parties have played central roles in cultivating private organizations that share their foreign policy priorities, fostering an ecosystem of influence that endures long after a president’s term.
| Publisher | Harvard University Press |
| Author | Chad Levinson |
| Country | USA |
| Publication Date | 02/06/2026 |
| Pages | 288 |
| Edition | first |
| Size | 6×9 |
| About the Author | Chad Levinson is Assistant Professor of Government and International Affairs at Virginia Tech. He has taught previously at the University of Chicago and Williams College and has held research fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center and the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. |
| Publisher Address | contact_hup@harvard.edu |
| ISBN | 978-0674302518 |
