Readings in U.S. Foreign Policy

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 Policy Decision-making

Introductory Remarks

International Relations Theory: An Overview

• Jack Snyder, “One world, Rival Theories,” Foreign Policy (November/December 2004).

Bureaucratic Politics

• Paul ‘T Hart and Uriel Rosenthal, “Reappraising Bureaucratic Politics,” Mershon International Studies Review, Vol. 42, No. 2 (November 1998):
• Stephen D. Krasner, “Are Bureaucracies Important? (Or Allison Wonderland)”

Psychology in Decision-Making

• Guy Ziv, “Simple vs. Complex Learning Revisited: Israeli Prime Ministers and the Question of a Palestinian State,” Foreign Policy Analysis, Vol. 9, No. 2 (April 2013). https://oxfordre.com/politics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-428

Further Reading

Critical Thinking Questions

Section III: The Sources of U.S. Foreign Policy

Introductory Remarks

The Executive Branch

• Ivo H. Daalder and I.M. Destler, “In the Shadow of the Oval Office: The Next National Security Adviser,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 88, Number 1 (Jan./Feb. 2009).
• Sharece Thrower, “What is an executive order, and why don’t presidents use them all the time?” The Conversation (January 26, 2021).

Congress

• War Powers Resolution of 1973
• Christopher J. Deering, “Congress’s Role in Foreign Policymaking,” Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (May 2009).
• Jordan Tama et al., “Foreign policy is Biden’s best bet for bipartisan action, experts say – but GOP is unlikely to join him on climate change,” The Conversation (December 9, 2020): https://theconversation.com/foreign-policy-is-bidens-best-bet-for-bipartisan-action-experts-say-but-gop-is-unlikely-to-join-him-on-climate-change-150508

Public Opinion

• Daniel Bessner and Stephen Wertheim, “Democratizing U.S. Foreign Policy,” Foreign Affairs (April 5, 2017).

The Media

• Piers Robinson, “The CNN Effect: Can the News Media Drive Foreign Policy?” Review of International Studies, Vol. 25, No. 2 (April 1999).
• Nina Jankowicz, “How to Defeat Disinformation: An Agenda for the Biden Administration,” Foreign Affairs (November 19, 2020).

Further Reading

Critical Thinking Questions

Section IV: U.S. Foreign Policy Challenges in the 21^st Century

Introductory Remarks

Continuity vs. Change in U.S. Foreign Policy

• President Trump’s Inaugural Address (January 20, 2017) – selected excerpts.
• President Trump’s First Address to a Joint Session of Congress (February 28, 2017) – selected excerpts.
• Joseph R. Biden, “Why America Must Lead Again: Rescuing U.S. Foreign Policy After Trump,” Foreign Affairs (March/April 2020)

U.S. Policy Toward the Middle East

• Steven A. Cook, “No Exit: Why the Middle East Still Matters to America,” Foreign Affairs (November/December 2020).
• Michelle Bentley, “Arab Spring: when the US needed to step up it stood back – now, all eyes are on Biden,” The Conversation (February 11, 2021)

U.S.-Russia Relations

• Michael McFaul, “How to Contain Putin’s Russia: A Strategy for Countering a Rising Revisionist Power,” Foreign Affairs (January 19, 2021).

U.S. Policy Toward Asia

• Kevin Rudd, “Short of War: How to Keep U.S.-Chinese Confrontation From Ending in Calamity,” Foreign Affairs (March/April 2021).

Transatlantic Relations

• Max Bergmann, “The EU Is the Military Ally the United States Needs,” Foreign Affairs (January 6, 2021).

Further Reading

Critical Thinking Questions

Readings in US Foreign Policy is one of the best compilations of readings which I have encountered in my undergraduate career. It is particularly useful not only because it has a broad and wide spectrum of documents, from scholarly articles to primary source documents, but also that the documents, which are in the reader, are the quintessential articles and documents in foreign policy. Overall, I think it is an outstanding reader!
Marie Scholz, Student, American University

Readings in U.S. Foreign Policy is a fantastic resource for any student studying U.S. foreign policy. This reader successfully synthesizes the most salient documents that explain U.S. foreign policy decision-making since the founding of the republic. The critical thinking questions at the end of every section are a helpful tool for analyzing the readings and practicing the writing of succinct and coherent answers to thought provoking questions. It is a great supplement for any U.S. foreign policy course.
Arie Pittman, Student, American University