A Concise History of U.S. Foreign Policy
6th Edition
Published on 30. April 2026
Book
Hardback
496 pages
979-8-8818-0643-9 (ISBN)
Description
Including new photos and expanded discussions on key issues, this updated edition offers a uniquely historical perspective of U.S. foreign policy and it's ever-changing evolution.
In a fully updated Sixth Edition, this compact and accessible introduction offers a historical perspective on the evolution of U.S. foreign policy from the founding of the country to the present. Joyce P. Kaufman provides students with a clear and concise understanding of key foreign-policy decisions and why they were made. She identifies the major themes that have guided foreign policy and the reasons that the United States pursued certain policies in the context of specific periods in the nation's history. Kaufman focuses on the major actors involved in the making of foreign policy and the changing relationships among them. She also explains the major theoretical perspectives within international relations and contextualizes key foreign policy decisions as they fit these frameworks.
In a fully updated Sixth Edition, this compact and accessible introduction offers a historical perspective on the evolution of U.S. foreign policy from the founding of the country to the present. Joyce P. Kaufman provides students with a clear and concise understanding of key foreign-policy decisions and why they were made. She identifies the major themes that have guided foreign policy and the reasons that the United States pursued certain policies in the context of specific periods in the nation's history. Kaufman focuses on the major actors involved in the making of foreign policy and the changing relationships among them. She also explains the major theoretical perspectives within international relations and contextualizes key foreign policy decisions as they fit these frameworks.
Reviews / Votes
"A Concise History of United States Foreign Policy, 6th edition provides both an excellent historical analysis and an incisive contemporary discussion of how American foreign policy was and is made. Dr. Kaufman has produced an engaging and well-researched update to what was already a very good textbook." * Richard Filipink, Professor of History, Western Illinois University, USA *More details
Edition
6th edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
5 b/w figures, 16 textboxes
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 31 mm
Weight
907 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-8818-0643-9 (9798881806439)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Joyce P. Kaufman is professor emerita of political science at Whittier College. Her books include Introduction to International Relations: Theory and Practice; Women at War, Women Building Peace: Challenging Gender Norms; Women and War: Gender Identity and Activism in Times of Conflict; Women, the State, and War: A Comparative Perspective on Citizenship and Nationalism; Providing for National Security: A Comparative Analysis; and The Future of Transatlantic Relations: Perceptions, Policy, and Practice.
Content
PART I: THE FRAMEWORK
1 Setting the Stage for Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy
Introduction to U.S. Foreign Policy
What Is Foreign Policy?
Foreign Policy Orientations
Theory and Context
Identifying Themes
Who Makes Foreign Policy, and Why Are Particular Decisions Made?
Who Is Affected by U.S. Foreign Policy Decisions?
Domestic Constituencies
Setting the Stage
Primary Sources
PART II: THE FORMATIVE YEARS
2 Unilateralism to Engagement: The Founding to the End of World War I, 1777-1920
The Beginning
Manifest Destiny, the Monroe Doctrine, and Westward Expansion
Continued Expansion
The Civil War
The Spanish-American War
The Scramble for Concessions
The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
March to World War I
U.S. Involvement in Russia
Domestic Issues: The Executive and Legislative Branches
The Shifting National Interest
Chronology from the Founding to the End of World War I
Selected Primary Sources
3 From Isolationism to Superpower: The Interwar Years through World War II, 1920-1945
Interwar America
Escalation to World War II: 1930-1941
War
The Impact of World War II
The United Nations: Defining the Postwar World
From Isolationism to Engagement
Chronology, 1920-1945
Selected Primary Sources
PART III: THE COLD WAR
4 The Making of a Superpower: The Evolution of U.S. Cold War Policy, 1945-1968
Background of the Cold War
The Early Years of the Cold War
1947: Outlining U.S. Cold War Policy
The Escalation of the Cold War: Berlin to Korea
Eisenhower
The Kennedy Years
Johnson: Vietnam, and the Great Society
The End of the Decade: Changes in U.S. Policy
Chronology, 1946-1968
Selected Primary Sources
5 The Cold War Continued: Nixon through Reagan, 1969-1989
Nixon
Carter
Reagan
The Cold War and Beyond
Chronology, 1969-1988
Selected Primary Sources
PART IV: THE POST-COLD WAR PERIOD
6 The Period of American Hegemony: Bush-Clinton-Bush (1989-2009)
George H. W. Bush and the "New World Order"
The Clinton Years
Rethinking U.S. Foreign Policy under Clinton
George W. Bush: From Election to 9/11
President Bush and Wilsonian Idealism
Chronology 1989-2009
Selected Primary Sources
7 Obama and Trump: 2009 to 2021
President Obama and his Foreign Policy Direction
The Obama Administration in Retrospect
Challenges Facing the Obama Administration
Relations with the Middle East
U.S. Relations with Other Parts of the World under Obama
Other Challenges to the United States under Obama
Obama's Legacy
The Election of Donald Trump
U.S. Foreign Policy Post-Trump
Chronology 2009-present
Selected Primary Sources
8 Biden and Beyond: The Future of U.S. Foreign Policy
The Election of 2020 and the Transition
The Challenges and Threats
U.S. Relations with other Nations
Other Threats
The Future of U.S. Foreign Policy: Returning to First Principles
The Cold War as a Framework for U.S. Foreign Policy
The Actors and the Domestic Balance of Power
Selected Primary Sources
1 Setting the Stage for Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy
Introduction to U.S. Foreign Policy
What Is Foreign Policy?
Foreign Policy Orientations
Theory and Context
Identifying Themes
Who Makes Foreign Policy, and Why Are Particular Decisions Made?
Who Is Affected by U.S. Foreign Policy Decisions?
Domestic Constituencies
Setting the Stage
Primary Sources
PART II: THE FORMATIVE YEARS
2 Unilateralism to Engagement: The Founding to the End of World War I, 1777-1920
The Beginning
Manifest Destiny, the Monroe Doctrine, and Westward Expansion
Continued Expansion
The Civil War
The Spanish-American War
The Scramble for Concessions
The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
March to World War I
U.S. Involvement in Russia
Domestic Issues: The Executive and Legislative Branches
The Shifting National Interest
Chronology from the Founding to the End of World War I
Selected Primary Sources
3 From Isolationism to Superpower: The Interwar Years through World War II, 1920-1945
Interwar America
Escalation to World War II: 1930-1941
War
The Impact of World War II
The United Nations: Defining the Postwar World
From Isolationism to Engagement
Chronology, 1920-1945
Selected Primary Sources
PART III: THE COLD WAR
4 The Making of a Superpower: The Evolution of U.S. Cold War Policy, 1945-1968
Background of the Cold War
The Early Years of the Cold War
1947: Outlining U.S. Cold War Policy
The Escalation of the Cold War: Berlin to Korea
Eisenhower
The Kennedy Years
Johnson: Vietnam, and the Great Society
The End of the Decade: Changes in U.S. Policy
Chronology, 1946-1968
Selected Primary Sources
5 The Cold War Continued: Nixon through Reagan, 1969-1989
Nixon
Carter
Reagan
The Cold War and Beyond
Chronology, 1969-1988
Selected Primary Sources
PART IV: THE POST-COLD WAR PERIOD
6 The Period of American Hegemony: Bush-Clinton-Bush (1989-2009)
George H. W. Bush and the "New World Order"
The Clinton Years
Rethinking U.S. Foreign Policy under Clinton
George W. Bush: From Election to 9/11
President Bush and Wilsonian Idealism
Chronology 1989-2009
Selected Primary Sources
7 Obama and Trump: 2009 to 2021
President Obama and his Foreign Policy Direction
The Obama Administration in Retrospect
Challenges Facing the Obama Administration
Relations with the Middle East
U.S. Relations with Other Parts of the World under Obama
Other Challenges to the United States under Obama
Obama's Legacy
The Election of Donald Trump
U.S. Foreign Policy Post-Trump
Chronology 2009-present
Selected Primary Sources
8 Biden and Beyond: The Future of U.S. Foreign Policy
The Election of 2020 and the Transition
The Challenges and Threats
U.S. Relations with other Nations
Other Threats
The Future of U.S. Foreign Policy: Returning to First Principles
The Cold War as a Framework for U.S. Foreign Policy
The Actors and the Domestic Balance of Power
Selected Primary Sources