Increased attention is being paid to the role public opinion plays in shaping foreign policy. From its past impact on US decisions regarding the Vietnam War to the mix of populism and policy around the world today, how influential is the electorate’s view?

In January 2017, America and the world was preparing for a monumental shift in global politics with the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Media pundits claimed that public opinion in the US had never been more divided with the people taking to the streets to declare their support or outrage.

A year on, the ANU’s Dr Charles Miller says the American public is still more divided than at any other time in living memory. He sat down with AIIA National Office researcher Zoe Halstead to discuss public opinion in Australia and the US in the Trump era as part of the AIIA podcast series.

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Dr Charles Miller is a lecturer in strategic studies at the Australian National University. He is a PhD graduate in political science from Duke University who researches in a number of areas with a particular focus on public opinion and foreign policy, military effectiveness and far-right politics.

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