A Concise History of U.S. Foreign Policy

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.

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.