Kendall Hunt

The Revised First Edition of Readings in U.S. Foreign Policy 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 revised first edition includes recent essays on the latest developments in the Middle East including the Arab Spring and the likely impact these revolutions will have on jihadist groups and, by extension, American counter-terrorism efforts.

Features:

Seminal articles on foreign policy decision-making and U.S. foreign policy
Introductory essays for each section that provide a historical and theoretical context to each of the works
Critical thinking questions on separate, tear-out sheets to encourage further reflection on each piece
Recommended readings for students interested in studying the topics presented in more depth

Guy Ziv

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Section I Foundations of American Foreign Policy: From a Tradition of Non-Interventionism to 20th and 21st Century Interventionism

A Tradition of Non-Interventionism
Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)
Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address (1801)
The Monroe Doctrine (1823)

Interventionism in the 20th and 21st Centuries
Theodore Roosevelt’s Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1904)
The Truman Doctrine (1947)
The National Security Strategy of the United States (2002)
The National Security Strategy of the United States (2010)
Further Reading
Critical Thinking Questions

Section II Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Foreign Policy Decision-Making

Three Models of Decision-Making: The Rational Actor Approach, Bureaucratic Politics, and the Organizational Model
Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis Graham T. Allison
Are Bureaucracies Important? (or Allison Wonderland) Stephen D. Krasner

Psychology in Decision-Making
Hypotheses on Misperception Robert Jervis
The Impact of Personality on the End of the Cold War: A Counterfactual Analysis Fred I. Greenstein
Introduction to Groupthink: Why So Many Miscalculations? Irving L. Janis
Further Reading
Critical Thinking Questions

Section III The Sources of U.S. Foreign Policy

The Executive Branch
In the Shadow of the Oval Office: The Next National Security Adviser Ivo H. Daalder and I. M. Destler
Domestic Obstacles to International Affairs: The State Department Under Fire at Home Steven W. Hook
The War Powers Resolution (1973)

Congress
Congress’s Role in Foreign Policymaking Christopher J. Deering
The Founders and Foreign Policy: An Introductory Essay Don Wolfensberger

Public Opinion
Public Opinion on Foreign Policy: The Multilateral Public That Perceives Itself as Unilateral Alexander Todorov and Anesu N. Mandisodza

The Media
The CNN Effect: Can the News Media Drive Foreign Policy? Piers Robinson
Further Reading
Critical Thinking Questions

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

Challenges to American Primacy
The Future of American Power: How America Can Survive the Rise of the Rest Fareed Zakaria
Enemies into Friends Charles A. Kupchan

Aspiring to a Nuclear-Free World
Remarks by President Barack Obama President Obama

The War in Afghanistan
Defining Success in Afghanistan Stephen Biddle, Fotini Christia, and Alexander J. Their

The Arab Spring
Demystifying the Arab Spring Lisa Anderson

Terrorism
Terrorism after the Revolutions Daniel Byman
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