Joseph A. Ledford is an America in the World Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs in Washington, D.C. Joseph received his Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Berkeley, where he specialized in U.S. foreign relations and the American presidency. Joseph is generally interested in the foreign policy process, presidential power, and domestic politics. His research focuses on the individuals and institutions responsible for the exercise of American power in the world, particularly the role of the presidency, and the domestic politics of foreign policy, broadly construed.

Joseph’s first book manuscript examines the Iran-Contra affair and explains why the scandal transformed American governance. Joseph is presently revising the manuscript for publication and conducting research for his next project. Conceived as a diplomatic and political history of the bipartisan consensus on America’s global leadership, the book project will explore the development of bipartisanship in U.S. foreign policy from the Second World War into the 21st century. 

Prior to joining the Kissinger Center, Joseph was an America in the World Consortium Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin.