ABSTRACT
This book integrates the study of presidential politics and foreign policy-making from the Vietnam aftermath to the events following September 11 and the Iraqi War. Focusing on the relationship between presidents' foreign policy agendas and domestic politics, it offers compelling portraits of presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II. In the course of comparing the efforts of these presidents to articulate a clear conception of the national interest and to forge a foreign policy consensus, the author shows the key role of public opinion in constraining presidential initiatives, in particular the decision to use military force overseas. Never more timely, this popular text is appropriate for courses in U.S. foreign policy, the presidency, or contemporary U.S. politics.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |42 pages
The Rise and Fall of the Cold War Consensus
chapter |40 pages
In Search of Consensus
part |148 pages
American Foreign Policy After Vietnam
chapter |42 pages
The Nixon Administration
chapter |41 pages
The Carter Administration
chapter |63 pages
The Reagan Administration
part |97 pages
The Post–Cold War Interlude
chapter |40 pages
The Bush Administration
chapter |55 pages
The Clinton Administration
part |41 pages
The Global War on Terror
chapter |39 pages
The George W. Bush Administration
part |22 pages
Conclusions