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While U.S. immigration entry policies after 1953 became a hallmark of ideological openness, designating the United States as the unquestioned leader of a freer and more just world order, Donald Trump's current immigration strategies isolate America, damage her economy, and fuel divisive feelings among citizens. This paper hopes to persuade the Republican Party not to revert to its pre-1953 restrictionist and nativist stance, thereby undoing the crucial work undertaken by the Eisenhower Administration. The author argues that a sound grasp of the debate that led to the approval of the Refugee Relief Act in 1953 can lead to better informed political decision-making, tracing a new phase of America's active presence on the world stage, in line with the country's national interest and Cold war tradition.

The U.S. Republican Party has always consisted of of different elements, which belong to deep and diverse historical and cultural tradition. Throughout the twentieth century, these currents within the Grand Old Party worked sometimes separately, albeit more often in mutual agreement, united by the need to oppose a federal overreach domestically, and the threat of totalitarianism abroad. This paper analyzes the birth and evolution of the various strands of thought which constitute the conservative front today. Their philisophies came into being through the spread of a new, entrepreneurial middle class in the Thirties and grew stronger with the support of the common people from the East Coast during the economic boom in the early Fifties. Such process culminated in the nomination of Barry Goldwater as the GOP Presidential candidate in 1964. Goldwater embodied those features that still distinguish the American conservatism today: a limited government, the free market, individual freedom coupled with personal responsibility, a strong national defense and the appeal to traditional American values.

Maxwell Rabb is remembered as the longest-serving United States Ambassador to Italy, from 1981 to 1989. What is less known, contrary to the popular belief that he was chosen because of his prominence in the Jewish community of New York, is that Rabb's appointment was in fact due to his deep knowledge of Italian politics. Such knowledge can be traced back to 1953, when Rabb was working as an advisor for the Eisenhower Administration and a shepherd of the Refugee Relief Act through Congress. The aim of this paper is threefold: first, to provide information on Maxwell Rabb, given the lack of specific academic publications on his person; second, to expand on the Eisenhower strategy on immigration in 1952 and 1953, which marked a definite shift away from the restrictionist stance that had characterized the Republican Party up to that point; and last, to sketch the important political capital that Rabb acquired through his work on immigration policies. This paper does not aim at providing an account of bilateral relations between the U.S. and Italy regarding the Refugee Relief Act, nor does it question the independence of Italian foreign policy in those years. The present work will instead demonstrate how Rabb's work greatly contributed to forging a specific role for Italy in the Republican strategy of deterrence, making immigration a powerful weapon in the Cold War strategies of the United States.

The European Union (EU) is currently facing an uncertain future as member states debate the importance of political and economic cooperation. Although the organisation was founded on liberal principles, national discourses based on realist strategies have become more prevalent, spurred by debates on borders and identity issues. In essence, Europe cannot be liberal in principle while pursuing realist policies. Focusing on the concept of identity, this paper argues for a theoretical redirection of the EU, calling for a new geopolitical concept of identity based on its liberal tradition.