US Foreign Policy

This course explores contemporary relations between the United States and the world. The primary goal is to give students conceptual and critical tools to understand and analyze how international relations theory, U.S. foreign policy outcomes, and current events fit together, especially in the post 9/11 world. It is designed to develop students’ capacity both to explain the foreign policy-making process in the United States, and to better understand the underlying patterns, logic, and implications of American foreign policy in the world at large. The course is divided into three main topics. First, we will discuss International Relations theory that grounds U.S. foreign policy focusing on American international power and the goals for which this power is employed. The second part of the class will examine the institutions and processes that guide foreign policy formation and implementation. Questions will revolve around who are the important people setting the foreign policy agenda and what are the important institutions attempting to implement this agenda. Finally, the last third of the course will review some of the more salient foreign policy challenges facing the U.S. in the 21st century, including particular focus on geographic regions. Some of these issues include how the recent global economic crises may influence foreign policy, how terrorism and democracy promotion continue to shape U.S. foreign policy, and whether U.S. foreign policy towards Africa is undergoing significant change.