A Concise History of U.S. Foreign Policy

By (author) Joyce P. Kaufman

Publication date:

24 December 2013

Length of book:

260 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442223585

Now in a fully updated edition, this compact and accessible introduction offers a historical perspective on the evolution of U.S. foreign policy from the founding to the present. Joyce P. Kaufman provides students with a clear and concise understanding of key decisions and why they were made. She identifies the major themes that have guided foreign policy, and the reasons that the United States pursued the policies that it did in the context of specific periods in the nation’s history. The book focuses on the major actors involved in the making of foreign policy and the changing relationships among them. It also explains the major theoretical perspectives within International Relations and places key foreign policy decisions within these frameworks. She concludes with a look forward to the challenges the United States will face in the coming decades. With its strong narrative and use of compelling case studies, the book engages students fully in this crucial topic, encouraging them to form their own ideas about American foreign policy.

Chapter 1: Setting the Stage for Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy
Chapter 2: Unilateralism to Engagement: The Founding to the End of World War I, 1777–1920
Chapter 3: From Isolationism to Superpower: The Interwar Years through World War II, 1920–1945
Chapter 4: The Making of a Superpower: Cold War Foreign Policy, 1946–1980
Chapter 5: The Cold War and Beyond: Reagan through Clinton, 1980–2000
Chapter 6: George W. Bush, 9/11, and the Bush Doctrine: A New Direction for U.S. Foreign Policy? 2000–2008
Chapter 7: Obama and the Future of U.S. Foreign Policy: Current and Future Challenges, 2008–
Chapter 8: The Future of U.S. Foreign Policy
Suggested Readings

Teachers of American foreign policy often struggle to find the right balance between diplomatic history and contemporary policy debates. In a short and highly readable text, Joyce Kaufman gets the balance just right and provides an anchor for building effective classroom discussions about where we have come from and where we might be headed.