Steven W. Hook - Routledge Handbook of American Foreign Policy

No nation has maintained such an immense stature in world politics as the United States has since the Cold Wars end. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, prompting the global war on terrorism and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, along with American economic and soft power primacy, there has been increased interest in and scrutiny of American foreign policy. The Routledge Handbook of American Foreign Policy brings together leading experts in the field to examine current trends in the way scholars study the history and theories of American conduct in the world, analysis of state and non-state actors and their tools in conducting policy, and the dynamics of a variety of pressing transnational challenges facing the United States.

This volume provides a systematic overview of all aspects of American foreign policy and drives the agenda for further, cutting edge research. Contributors bring analytic depth and breadth to both the ways in which this subject is approached and the substance of policy formulation and process. The Handbook is an invaluable resource to students, researchers, scholars, and journalists trying to make sense of the broader debates in international relations.

First published 2012
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Printed and bound in the United States of America on acid-free paper by Sheridan Books, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Routledge handbook of American foreign policy / edited by Steven W. Hook and Christopher M. Jones.
p. cm.

1. United StatesForeign relationsHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Hook, Steven W., 1959 II. Jones, Christopher M. (Christopher Martin), 1966 III. Title: Handbook of American foreign policy.
JZ1480.R69 2011
327.73dc22
2011009581

ISBN: 978-0-415-80088-4 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-203-87863-7 (ebk)

Printed and bound in the United States of America on acid-free paper by Sheridan Books, Inc.

For students and practitioners of American foreign policy

S.W.H

C.M.J.

The United States remains the predominant world power more than two decades after the Cold War. Its military forces, economic relations, diplomatic relations, and cultural influence pervade the international system to an extent unmatched by any other nation-state or coalition of states. At the same time, American leaders face a variety of domestic problems and international challenges, and recent events have produced widespread perceptions of American decline in the global balance of power. While the nations future is highly uncertain, there is little doubt that the future course of American foreign policy will have profound consequences for world order throughout the twenty-first century.

This central reality of current international relations makes the scholarly study of American foreign policy more vital than ever. Until now, however, no single volume has provided a comprehensive survey of American foreign policy. While the recently published multi-volume collection, The International Studies Encyclopedia , provides exhaustive coverage of foreign policy analysis, it does not provide systematic coverage of the American case. This volume addresses this gap by bringing leading experts together to assess the state of scholarly research on all aspects of American foreign policy.

The Routledge Handbook of American Foreign Policy has two audiences in mind. It is intended for scholars, other professional researchers, journalists, and policy analysts, who seek a single resource that offers the necessary analytical depth and breadth to strengthen their own endeavors in this area of inquiry. The second audience includes instructors and students at all levels of graduate and undergraduate education who seek a comprehensive, yet accessible volume that provides a strong foundation for further study. With both audiences in mind, the authors were asked to place their chapters in the context of the broader scholarly literature and to consider, in a timely fashion, the current dilemmas and future prospects for this collective research effort.

The thirty-one chapters in the volume are organized along six functional lines. Part I highlights the research traditions in the study of American foreign policy, providing an essential context for the sections that follow. It also offers a historical review that covers the nations early diplomatic history, Cold War experience, and more recent foreign policy developments, respectively. In Part II, the authors explore the application of various theoretical and analytic schools of thought to American foreign policy. Part III examines the role of state actors in the policy-making process, such as the president, executive branch bureaucracies, Congress, and the courts. In a similar way, Part IV covers the roles of non-state actors and influences, including public opinion, the news media, interest groups, and multilateral institutions. Part V reviews scholarly research on the various policy instruments used to implement American foreign policy. Finally, Part VI highlights the many transnational challenges facing the United States, including terrorism, global trade, environmental degradation, and others.