Synopses & Reviews
American Foreign Relations since Independence explores the relationship of American policies to national interest and the limits of the nation's power, reinterpreting the nature and history of American foreign relations.
The book brings together the collective knowledge of three generations of diplomatic historians to create a readily accessible introduction to the subject. The authors explicitly challenge and reject the perennial debates about isolationism versus internationalism, instead asserting that American foreign relations have been characterized by the permanent tension inherent in America's desire to engage with the world and its equally powerful determination to avoid "entanglement" in the world's troubles. This work is ideally suited as a resource for students of politics, international affairs, and history, and it will provide compelling insights for informed general readers.
Synopsis
This book provides a succinct and accessible interpretation of the major event and ideas that have shaped U.S. foreign relations since the American Revolution—historical factors that now affect our current debates and commitments in the Middle East as well as Europe and Asia.
Synopsis
• Places current debates about U. S. foreign policy within the larger historical context
• Focuses on the shifting themes at root in American foreign relations throughout the years as the nation's key interests change
• Provides largely chronologically organized chapters that emphasize the more significant episodes in the history of American foreign relations
• Features the major players in American foreign relations and spotlights their influences, positive and negative
• Includes an extended bibliography that provides interested readers with opportunities for further study
Synopsis
Contemporary public debate about the nature of U. S. foreign policy often reveals an inability—or unwillingness—to remember what has happened before. The issues currently faced by the United States in its attempts to further American national interests and guarantee U.S. security can be understood as simply the latest manifestation of perennial foreign policy challenges, rather than being unique to the present age.