US Foreign Policy

Catalog description

"Foreign Policy is the way in which a state – the primary unit for organizing world politics – interacts with the world around it. Foreign policy encompasses the establishment of alliances, the pursuit of trade objectives, the creation of military doctrine, international negotiations and the waging of war. Foreign Policy is about relations between states, but it is influenced by the domestic politics and culture of the state. This course focuses on the foreign policy of the United States of America. There are a number of ways to study foreign policy – theoretical, practical, historical, and ideological are but a few of the most popular methods. This course utilizes a synthesis of differing approaches. The course offers a strong grounding in the history of USFP from the founding of the Republic to the present day, with a particular focus on ‘ideas’ about America’s role in the world. The course also examines a number of thematic issues confronting the US in the world today, before moving on to look at some specific contemporary challenges facing US policy-makers. This course provides students with a highly advanced knowledge of the key concepts, history, themes and contemporary issues in US Foreign Policy. This course will familiarize students with theoretical explanations of US foreign policy, historical and contemporary American thinking on international affairs, the structure of foreign policy making in Washington DC, as well as some of the major challenges facing contemporary American policy-makers."