Presidents And Foreign Policy

Examines ten important and controversial U.S. presidential foreign policy decisions in the post-World War II period, including one major controversy for each president from Truman to Clinton.

Presidents and Foreign Policy examines countdowns to ten important and controversial decisions in the post-World War II period, using the case study approach. The authors include one major controversy for each president from Truman to Clinton. The cases cover central issues of diplomacy, war and peace, and covert action that shaped the Cold War period and its aftermath in all major areas of the world. After reviewing the historical background of each decision, each case examines the foreign and domestic policy context, the effectiveness of presidential decision-making, and results of the decision. The reader is challenged to think about each decision by responding to a unique evaluation scheme the authors developed and tested.

What is the role of ethics in American foreign policy? The Trump Administration has elevated this from a theoretical question to front-page news. Should ethics even play a role, or should we only focus on defending our material interests? In Do Morals Matter? Joseph S. Nye provides a concise yet penetrating analysis of how modern American presidents have-and have not-incorporated ethics into their foreign policy. Nye examines each presidency during theAmerican era post-1945 and scores them on the success they achieved in implementing an ethical foreign policy. Alongside this, he evaluates their leadership qualities, explaining which approaches work and which ones do not.

"In this volume, leading historians and political scientists examine the United States' changing foreign policy, president by president, from 1789 to the present. If knowledge of history makes it possible to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, this volume is not only a powerful warning against future errors, it's also a study of successful, proven policies that are worth repeating. For students, scholars, and lay readers alike - anyone concerned about the proper place of the United States in the world - it offers a one-of-a-kind, one-stop source of information on the whole of American foreign policy."--BOOK JACKET.

In this book, the authors offer a map for diagnosing foreign policy mistakes and a compass for steering clear of them.

“Krutz and Peake’s book . . . puts another stake in the heart of the ‘imperial presidency’ argument.” —Lisa L. Martin, University of Wisconsin–Madison, American Review of Politics “Krutz and Peake reach their conclusions as a result of carefully crafted examination that might be cited as a model of political analysis of this sort . . . As [they] introduce each chapter with a summary of the argument as developed and supported to that point, the reader can enter into and understand their discussion and argument at virtually any point in the book. In sum, Treaty Politics and the Rise of Executive Agreements is a clearly written and important book that adds substantially to the existing literature on the presidency and on presidential-congressional relations.” —Roger E. Kanet, University of Miami, International Studies Review “One can only hope that this fine and challenging book starts an argument, or at least a dialogue, about presidential power in a post-Bush era. It merits the attention of presidency and congressional scholars, and those interested in the interaction of America’s political institutions.” —Michael A. Genovese, Loyola Marymount University, Journal of Politics

How U.S. domestic politics shapes the nation's foreign policy When engaging with other countries, the U.S. government has a number of different policy instruments at its disposal, including foreign aid, international trade, and the use of military force. But what determines which policies are chosen? Does the United States rely too much on the use of military power and coercion in its foreign policies? Sailing the Water's Edge focuses on how domestic U.S. politics—in particular the interactions between the president, Congress, interest groups, bureaucratic institutions, and the public—have influenced foreign policy choices since World War II and shows why presidents have more control over some policy instruments than others. Presidential power matters and it varies systematically across policy instruments. Helen Milner and Dustin Tingley consider how Congress and interest groups have substantial material interests in and ideological divisions around certain issues and that these factors constrain presidents from applying specific tools. As a result, presidents select instruments that they have more control over, such as use of the military. This militarization of U.S. foreign policy raises concerns about the nature of American engagement, substitution among policy tools, and the future of U.S. foreign policy. Milner and Tingley explore whether American foreign policy will remain guided by a grand strategy of liberal internationalism, what affects American foreign policy successes and failures, and the role of U.S. intelligence collection in shaping foreign policy. The authors support their arguments with rigorous theorizing, quantitative analysis, and focused case studies, such as U.S. foreign policy in Sub-Saharan Africa across two presidential administrations. Sailing the Water’s Edge examines the importance of domestic political coalitions and institutions on the formation of American foreign policy.