This is clearly an intentional attempt to make sure that undergraduates are not overwhelmed with information however, it does not quite strike the right balance between breadth of coverage and concision.
“Theories of US foreign policy” by Brian Schmidt gives an especially good overview of competing theories however, like most chapters in the book, the section on “further reading” is extremely limited. It contains a very limited discussion of the neoconservatives, including a definition box (382) making the erroneous claim that their thought is “based on the thinking of Irving Kristol” (in reality, he was one of a number of early neoconservative thinkers, many of whom disagreed with one another on important issues). It is essentially a defence of the Obama years and a critique of the Bush years. Kennedy-Pipe’s chapter, “American foreign policy after 9/11,” is another noticeably polemical inclusion. This would be fine if other chapters provided opposing perspectives, but this is not really true. neoconservatives were “intoxicated with power and righteousness,” 22).
#Cox and stokes us foreign policy pdf converter full
For example, the “American exceptionalism” chapter (Daniel Deudney) is full of unexamined over-generalisations (e.g. The editors maintain this balance in their introduction, and it also works well in chapters dealing with theoretical debates, when both sides of an issue are often represented however, it is less successful when the book turns to matters of historical context. Putting aside the question of whether “balance” really counts as a theme, it is nonetheless a laudable effort, particularly following the often absurd levels of vitriolic partisanship which often stood in for foreign policy analysis during the Bush Jr. The interactive map, which merely opens a PDF document when a particular region is clicked on, is not especially interactive however, each document provides a useful summary of US policy towards that region and a selection of website links which go some way to making up for the paucity of 'further reading' suggestions in the book.ħ According to the introduction, the work focuses on five broad and interrelated themes: the necessity for using history to understand contemporary debates, the relationship between short and long-term goals, the power exerted by the domestic sphere in shaping foreign policy, the fact that America is “too important to be ignored” (Cox and Stokes 2012: 4), and the need to maintain critical balance when assessing US foreign policy.
The lecturer resources, including seminar activities and essay questions, should prove popular with module convenors. This website contains separate student and lecturer sections.
The text is frequently accompanied by timelines, maps, questions and information boxes to encourage students to stop and think (for example, “Key Quotes,” “Major Debates,” “Key Points”), and the book comes with access to a complementary website. The remaining twentyone chapters are organized into five sections: “Historical Contexts,” “Institutions and Processes,” “The United States and the World,” “Key Issues” and “Futures and Scenarios.” A number of features make this textbook particularly useful for teaching undergraduates. For that reason, this review will provide only a brief summary of the overall text, discussing those chapters considered especially useful or problematic, before focusing upon the changes that have been made for the second edition.Ħ In terms of structure, the introduction is followed by a chapter on the theories underpinning US foreign policy and another chapter on the vexed issue of American exceptionalism. ISBN: 9780199585816.ĥ Many readers of this review will already be familiar with the first edition of this work, which is a staple of university libraries and undergraduate reading lists.
US Foreign Policy, 2nd EditionĢ Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.