Hard Line traces the history of Republican Party foreign policy since World War II by focusing on the conservative leaders who shaped it. Colin Dueck closely examines the political careers and foreign-policy legacies of Robert Taft, Dwight Eisenhower, Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. He shows how Republicans shifted away from isolationism in the years leading up to World War II and oscillated between realism and idealism during and after the cold war. Read more... Conservative traditions in U.S. foreign policy -- Republicans, conservatives, and U.S. foreign policy -- Robert Taft : the conservative as anti-interventionist -- Dwight Eisenhower : the conservative as balancer -- Barry Goldwater : the conservative as hawk -- Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger : realists as conservatives -- Ronald Reagan : the idealist as hawk -- George H.W. Bush : the conservative as realist -- George W. Bush : the nationalist as interventionist -- Republicans and U.S. foreign policy in the age of Obama