Us Foreign Policy And Global Standing In The 21st Century

This book examines US foreign policy and global standing in the 21st Century. The United States is the most powerful actor in world politics today. Against this backdrop, the present volume examines how the foreign policies pursued by Presidents’ George W. Bush and Barack Obama have affected elite and public perceptions of the United States. By examining America’s standing from the perspective of different actors from across various regions, including China, Russia, Latin America and the Middle East, while also assessing how these perceptions interact with America’s own policies, this books presents a fresh interpretation of America’s global standing. In doing so, the volume evaluates how these perceptions affect the realities of US power, and what impact this has on moulding US foreign policy and the policies of other global powers. A number of books address the question of which grand strategy the United States should adopt and the issue of whether or not America is in relative decline as a world power. However, the debate on these issues has largely been set against the policies of the Bush administration. By contrast, this volume argues that while Obama has raised the popularity of America since the low reached by Bush, America’s credibility and overall standing have actually been damaged further under President Obama. This book will be of much interest to students of US foreign policy, US national security, strategic studies, Middle Eastern politics, international relations and security studies generally.

In this cogent text, Laura Neack argues that foreign policy making, in this uncertain era of globalization and American global hegemony, revolves around seeking and maintaining power. Now in a thoroughly revised and updated edition, the book reviews both old and new lessons on how foreign policy decisions are made and executed. To make sense of these lessons, Neack employs a rich array of new and enduring international case studies organized in a set of concise, accessible chapters. Following a levels-of-analysis organization, the author considers all elements that influence foreign policy, including the role of leaders, bargaining, national image, political culture, public opinion, the media, and non-state actors.

The American Era makes a provocative argument about America's world role. It sets out the case for a grand strategy that recognizes American preponderance as necessary and desirable for coping with the perils of the post-9/11 world. The book argues firstly that, Militant Islamic terrorism and weapons of mass destruction pose a threat which requires us to alter the way we think about the pre-emptive and preventive use of force. Secondly, the UN and other international bodies are incapable of acting on these urgent problems. Thirdly, in an international system with no true central authority other countries will inevitably look for leadership to the US. The book argues that if America does not respond actively to terrorist threats, no one else will take the initiative.

In the years since the 9/11 attacks, socially constructed understandings of the identity of the United States and its friends and enemies in the world have played a critical role in determining the course of U.S. foreign policy. Constructing Twenty-First Century U.S. Foreign Policy argues that American foreign relations under the Bush administration were driven by an ideological agenda derived from a particular interpretation of long-standing ideas about national identity. Drawing on constructivist and social-psychological IR theory, it suggests that these ideas led directly to the administration's choice to invade Iraq, its misunderstanding the kind of war the United States would face there, and its failure to quickly establish a stable democratic government following the invasion.

This book argues that, in the years since the 9/11 attacks, socially constructed understandings of the identity of the United States and its friends and enemies have played a critical role in determining the course of U.S. foreign policy, in particular the Bush administration's choices with regard to the war on Iraq.

Examines "assumptions about the nature and utility of US power in the global arena"--

New Directions in US Foreign Policy is a state of the art overview of US foreign policy, providing a comprehensive account of the latest theoretical perspectives, the key actors and issues, and new policy directions. Offering a detailed and systematic outline of the field, this text: Explains how international relations theories such as realism, liberalism and constructivism can help us to interpret US foreign policy Examines the key influential actors shaping foreign policy, from political parties and think tanks to religious groups and public opinion Explores the most important new policy directions from the 'war on terror' and relations with the UN to democracy promotion and 'imperialism' Supplies succinct presentation of relevant case material, and provides recommendations for further reading and web sources for pursuing future research. Written by a distinguished line-up of contributors actively engaged in original research on the topics covered, this text provides a unique platform for rigorous debate over the contentious issues that surround US foreign policy. This wide-ranging text is essential reading for all students and scholars of US foreign policy.

Examines the complex relationship between United States foreign policy and American national identity as it has changed from the post-cold war period through the defining moment of 9/11 and into the 21st century. Starting with a discussion of notions of American identity in an historical sense, the contributors go on to examine the most central issues in US foreign policy and their impact on national identity including: the end of the Cold War, the rise of neo-conservatism, ideas of US Empire and the influence of the 'War on Terror'. The book sheds significant new light on the continuities and discontinuities in the relationship of US identity to foreign policy.