US Foreign Policy in Action: An Innovative Teaching Text

by Jeffrey S. Lantis, Patrick Homan

Overview

This book represents a timely exploration of the dynamics of U.S.foreign policy development. It introduces historical developments and theories of U.S. foreign policy and engages students in the politics and debates of the foreign policy process (both directly and by proxy) through innovative learning exercises. This book offers a rich understanding of the politics behind clashing perspectives towards contemporary foreign policy challenges ranging from immigration policy controversies to COVID-19 pandemic responses, climate change to the China trade war. All of these issues are presented in dynamic ways that focus on activism and engagement in the policy process—and so this text speaks directly to a new generation of college students who have mobilized to political activism. The book is intended to serve as a core text for classes on U.S. foreign policy at the 200-level or above and will appeal to a broad audience.

New to the Second Edition:

• Provides insights on contemporary foreign policy challenges facing the Biden administration and future presidents, such as climate change, the rise of China, sanctions and trade policies, and changing U.S. engagement in the Middle East.
• Offers stronger theoretical foundations for the study of domestic constraints in the foreign policy decision-making process, including the power of interest groups and political polarization in Congress.
• Explains pedagogical treatments of online and hybrid learning applications, along with presenting new exercises to engage students both in person in the classroom and online.
• Presents more detailed and critical historical analyses of U.S. foreign policy, including greater attention to the U.S. as an imperial power and its implications for politics and society.
• Creates new and exciting active learning exercises for instructors and students, including role-playing simulations of global public health crisis management and group research projects on cybersecurity and immigration policy.
• Enriches the graphics and illustrations of foreign policy actors and processes in a full-color presentation.
• Analyzes contemporary foreign policy issues in the Trump and Biden administrations.
• Adds new web components and features, some authored by undergraduate students who are becoming experts in U.S. foreign policy.
• Includes new writing exercises and assignments designed to promote creative and critical thinking about foreign policy actors and processes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367616021
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/12/2022
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	390
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jeffrey S. Lantis is Professor of Political Science and Chair of the interdisciplinary Global & International Studies Program at The College of Wooster. He is also an Editor of International Studies Perspectives, an ISA flagship journal. He is author of several books and articles, most recently, Foreign Policy Advocacy and Entrepreneurship: How a New Generation in Congress is Shaping U.S. Engagement with the World (2019) and The Battle for U.S. Foreign Policy: Congress, Parties, and Factions in the 21st Century (2020, co-authored with Patrick Homan). He received the Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Award from the Active Learning in International Affairs Section of ISA in March of 2020.

Patrick Homan is Associate Professor of Political Science at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois. He is author of Getting to 67: The Post-Cold War Politics of Arms Control Treaty Ratification (Routledge, 2015) and The Battle for U.S. Foreign Policy: Congress, Parties, and Factions in the 21st Century (2020, co-authored with Jeffrey Lantis). He has worked extensively on pedagogy-related initiatives, including co-teaching courses with other disciplines, teaching with film, and using geography in the classroom, and has received a grant and training from the Interfaith Youth Core for teaching interfaith studies.

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Table of Contents

List of Boxes

List of Figures

List of Maps

List of Photos

List of Tables

Online Support Material for Teaching and Learning

Preface and Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy

Chapter 2: U.S. Foreign Policy and Grand Strategy

Chapter 3: History of U.S. Foreign Policy: A Noble Struggle?

Chapter 4: Modern History of U.S. Foreign Policy

Chapter 5: Key Institutions: Branches of Government

Chapter 6: Leadership in Action: Debating American Engagement with the World

Chapter 7: Bureaucracies and Unelected Actors

Chapter 8: Bureaucracies in Action: A National Security Council Simulation

Chapter 9: Interest Groups and Political Parties

Chapter 10: Interest Groups in Action: Case Studies

Chapter 11: Public Opinion and the Media

Chapter 12: Public Opinion and the Media in Action

Chapter 13: Blended and Hybrid Approaches to Studying Contemporary U.S. Foreign Policy

Bibliography

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Jeffrey Lantis has written a first rate study of US Foreign Policy in an age of uncertainty, complexity and transition. This comprehensive book, covering both theory and practice, looks at economic, security, environmental, and human rights issues, as well as the US’s relationships with other great powers. In particular, it provides an excellent pedagogical approach for students with a range of active learning frameworks designed to promote engagement with critical issues of international relations and help students experience the real world of policy making.”—John Baylis, Swansea University

"Topical. Innovative.  Engaging.  This textbook will draw students in with a crisp discussion of United States foreign policy history and process and enhances the learning experience with well-designed classroom exercises. If you’ve been looking for a textbook to help you foster a more active learning classroom environment, this is it!"—Douglas Foyle, Wesleyan University

Editorial Reviews

Praise for the Second Edition of US Foreign Policy in Action

Lantis and Homan understand the challenge and the craft of teaching contemporary U.S. foreign policy. Consequently, US Foreign Policy in Action is a highly engaging and pedagogically sensitive survey of the actors, interests, and politics that shape U.S. foreign policy decisions, actions, and issues. Through interesting, structured debates, discussion questions, case studies, and other appealing features, US Foreign Policy in Action brings the foreign policy process alive, allowing readers to put themselves in the shoes of policy-makers without sharing their ulcers. Instructors and students will enjoy using this well-written and interactive textbook.

Christopher M. Jones, Bradley University

I love this textbook! While there are many worthwhile texts on the market focused on U.S. foreign policy, this one surveys all the key historical, institutional, and policy process aspects of U.S. foreign policy for an undergraduate-level course. It also incorporates imaginative and highly effective active learning assignments for the classroom on key issues that really engage students and help instructors make important connections between the conceptual and the practical. Smoothly written, highly accessible, with relevant and interesting new cases, Lantis and Homan have done an excellent job with this updated edition of US Foreign Policy in Action. I loved the first edition; I can't wait to use this new edition the next time I teach U.S. Foreign Policy.

Mary K. Meyer-McAleese, Eckerd College

Lantis and Homan enliven U.S. foreign policy with their innovative pedagogical approach. This engaging text is chock-full of activities designed to deepen student learning of concepts and issues as well as promote critical thinking, research, and communication skills. The variety of interactive learning activities will have wide appeal among students and instructors alike. Especially exciting are the Learning Through Technology exercises that employ various platforms to facilitate students' exploration of political issues, actors, and processes. The authors do not disappoint in their promise to bring foreign policy to life!

Kirsten Taylor, Berry College

From the Publisher