Marion Smith, through his research and writing at The Heritage Foundation, relates the enduring principles of America’s founding to current issues in international affairs.

A graduate fellow in Heritage’s B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics, Smith explores the continuing relevance of political traditions and the history of early U.S. foreign policy in understanding the nation’s role in the world today.

Smith has presented scholarly papers at conferences in the United States and Europe. His research topics include American foreign policy and diplomatic history; constitutionalism and federalism; international law and institutions; and European politics.

He is a native of South Carolina, where his ancestors fought on both sides of the Revolutionary War.

Smith graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wofford College with a bachelor of arts degree in government and history. He studied international relations theory at Oxford University and European Union law at the University of Amsterdam. He is pursuing a master’s degree in international relations at Central European University, writing his thesis on the compatibility of NATO and EU security cooperation.

Smith is the founding president of the Common Sense Society in Budapest, Hungary, which seeks to promote civic engagement, entrepreneurship and a greater understanding of the ideas of liberty. He was a 2010 Washington Fellow at the National Review Institute in Washington, D.C., and a 2011 Publius Fellow at the Claremont Institute in California.