U.S. Foreign Policy

Donald M Snow is professor emeritus at the University of Alabama where he taught courses on International Relations, American Defense Policy, and Foreign Policy. He is author of numerous books on national security and American foreign policy, including The Middle East, Oil, and the U.S. National Security Policy: Intractable Conflicts, Impossible Solutions, due to publish April 2016 with R&L. Patrick J. Haney is professor and Chair of the Political Science department at Miami University in Ohio. He serves on the Editorial Board of Foreign Policy Analysis, is Past President of the Active Learning in International Affairs section of the International Studies Association (ISA), and currently an officer for the Foreign Policy Analysis section of the ISA.

• I. The Context, 1: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Water’s Edge, 2: Brother, Can You Paradigm? 1945 to the Present, II. Foreign Policy Processes, 3: Understanding How It Happens: Decision Making and U.S. Foreign Policy, 4: The President, 5: The Role of Executive Agencies, 6: Congress and Foreign Policy, 7: Interest Groups and Think Tanks, 8: The Public and the Media, III. Policy Arenas, 9: National Security Policy and Problems, 10: Foreign Economic Policy, 11: Trans-State Issues and American Foreign Policy, IV. The Future, 12: Conclusions: Back to the Water’s Edge,

A concise, mainstream US foreign policy text. It covers all the most essential topics, focuses on decision inputs and processes, and makes the somewhat controversial argument that partisan agreement is important and possible for improving US foreign policy outcomes.