This textbook reader introduces undergraduate students to the historical foundations of American foreign policy; key theoretical approaches to the study of foreign policymaking; the central actors, institutions, and political processes of U.S. foreign policy; and contemporary challenges to U.S. primacy in the 21st century. This third edition focuses in particular on the Trump Era in an attempt to offer greater clarity on the new administration’s enigmatic and, at times, contradictory approach to foreign policy. The reader includes recent essays on current debates in U.S. foreign policy, such as how to deal with the threat of North Korea and the effectiveness of using drones as a principal tool of U.S. counterterrorism strategy.
Features:
- Seminal articles on foreign policy decision-making and U.S. foreign policy
- Recent articles on contemporary issues concerning American foreign policy
- Introductory essays for each section that provide a historical and theoretical context to each of the works
- Critical thinking questions on separate, print-out sheets to encourage further reflection on each piece
- Recommended readings for students interested in studying the topics presented in more depth
Table of Contents:
SECTION I Foundations of American Foreign Policy:
From a Tradition of Non-Interventionism
to Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Interventionism
Introductory Remarks
A Tradition of Non-Interventionism
?? Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)
?? Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address (1801)
?? The Monroe Doctrine (1823)
Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Interventionism
?? Theodore Roosevelt’s Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1904)
?? President Wilson’s Address to a Joint Session of Congress (April 2, 1917)
?? The Truman Doctrine (1947)
?? President George W. Bush’s Address to a Joint Session of Congress
(September 20, 2001)
Further Reading
Critical Thinking Questions
SECTION II Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Foreign Policymaking
Introductory Remarks
The Rational Actor Approach vs. Bureaucratic Politics
?? Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis
Graham T. Allison
?? Are Bureaucracies Important? (Or Allison Wonderland)
Stephen D. Krasner
iv Contents
Psychology in Decision-Making
?? Hypotheses on Misperception
Robert Jervis
Further Reading
Critical Thinking Questions
SECTION III The Sources of U.S. Foreign Policy
Introductory Remarks
The Executive Branch
?? In the Shadow of the Oval Office: The Next National Security Adviser
Ivo H. Daalder and I. M. Destler
?? Rex Tillerson Might Be the Weakest Secretary of State Ever
Robert Jervis
Congress
?? The War Powers Resolution (1973)
?? Congress’s Role in Foreign Policymaking
Christopher J. Deering
?? The Founders and Foreign Policy: An Introductory Essay
Don Wolfensberger
Public Opinion
?? Democratizing U.S. Foreign Policy
Daniel Bessner and Stephen Wertheim
The Media
?? The CNN Effect: Can the News Media Drive Foreign Policy?
Piers Robinson
?? How Does Donald Trump Think His War on the Press Will End?
Adrienne LaFrance
Further Reading
Critical Thinking Questions
SECTION IV U.S. Foreign Policy Challenges in the Twenty-First Century
Introductory Remarks
Is the U.S. in Decline?
?? President Trump’s Inaugural Address
(January 20, 2017)—selected excerpts
?? Remarks by President Trump in Joint Address to Congress
(February 28, 2017)—selected excerpts
?? Not Fade Away: Against the Myth of American Decline
Robert Kagan
?? The Brilliant Incoherence of Trump’s Foreign Policy
Stephen Sestanovich
The Revolutions in the Arab World
?? Deal With the Region You Have, Not the Region You Want
Seth G. Jones
Russia, Islamic State, and the Civil War in Syria
?? The Strategic Suicide of Aligning With Russia in Syria
Hal Brands and Colin Kahl
The Drones Debate
?? Why Drones Work: The Case for Washington’s Weapon of Choice
Daniel Byman
?? Why Drones Fail: When Tactics Drive Strategy
Audrey Kurth Cronin
U.S. Policy Toward Asia in the Trump Era
?? Asia in the Trump Era: From Pivot to Peril?
Bilahari Kausikan
?? Getting Tough on North Korea: How to Hit Pyongyang Where It Hurts
Joshua Stanton, Sung-Yoon Lee, and Bruce Klinger
Further Reading
Critical Thinking Questions
