A Concise History of U.S. Foreign Policy

by Joyce P. Kaufman

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798881806446
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/19/2026
Edition description:	6th ed.
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.11(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

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

Editorial Reviews

More than simply a summary of key events, Kaufman’s book offers a readable, comprehensive, and analytically sound interpretation of the events and themes that have characterized the history and politics of American foreign policy since this country’s founding. Among other revisions, the new edition provides a sobering description of the human costs of continental expansion by adding a section on the government’s forced relocation of Native Americans in the Southeast to territories west of the Mississippi River. Updated to include Biden’s first one hundred days in office, the book includes an unsparing account of the Trump presidency—from Russian involvement in the 2016 election to Trump’s upending of policies and policy-making processes that had governed American foreign policy since the end of World War II. The new edition includes chronologies of key events and links to important primary documents, both of which will prove useful to undergraduates—as will the rest of this excellent volume.” —Bernard J. Firestone, Hofstra University

“This invaluable bookprovides a concise but comprehensive march through the history of U.S. foreign policy. Kaufman has a keen eye and the ability to pull out relevant and informative examples to illustrate the evolution of U.S. policies and priorities. Moreover, she offers readers the vocabulary and theoretical tools to understand the forces that have shaped U.S. policy over time.
The new edition deftly covers the unorthodox presidency of Donald Trump—which raised many questions about the United States’ role in the world—and lays out the challenges facing the Biden administration. Kaufman also continues to explore the evolving nature of the U.S. national interest and the threats facing the United States, including COVID-19. The book’s questions and case studies are thought-provoking and will almost certainly translate into lively debates in the classroom and over the dinner table.” —Melissa C. Will, Purdue University

From the Publisher

More than simply a summary of key events, Kaufman’s book offers a readable, comprehensive, and analytically sound interpretation of the events and themes that have characterized the history and politics of American foreign policy since this country’s founding. Among other revisions, the new edition provides a sobering description of the human costs of continental expansion by adding a section on the government’s forced relocation of Native Americans in the Southeast to territories west of the Mississippi River. Updated to include Biden’s first one hundred days in office, the book includes an unsparing account of the Trump presidency—from Russian involvement in the 2016 election to Trump’s upending of policies and policy-making processes that had governed American foreign policy since the end of World War II. The new edition includes chronologies of key events and links to important primary documents, both of which will prove useful to undergraduates—as will the rest of this excellent volume.

Bernard J. Firestone

This invaluable book provides a concise but comprehensive march through the history of U.S. foreign policy. Kaufman has a keen eye and the ability to pull out relevant and informative examples to illustrate the evolution of U.S. policies and priorities. Moreover, she offers readers the vocabulary and theoretical tools to understand the forces that have shaped U.S. policy over time. The new edition deftly covers the unorthodox presidency of Donald Trump—which raised many questions about the United States’ role in the world—and lays out the challenges facing the Biden administration. Kaufman also continues to explore the evolving nature of the U.S. national interest and the threats facing the United States, including COVID-19. The book’s questions and case studies are thought-provoking and will almost certainly translate into lively debates in the classroom and over the dinner table.

Melissa C. Will

Joyce Kaufman’s new edition of A Concise History of U.S. Foreign Policy is excellent. It updates previous editions not only with discussion of the Obama administration’s policies but also with added historical perspectives. For the classroom, the text challenges students through interesting case studies to discuss and debate contentious foreign policy decisions. At the same time, its concise nature allows faculty to complement the text with additional materials.

Gale Mattox

This book is comprehensive, accessible, and thought-provoking. It gives the student enough information about the players and institutions who make U.S. foreign policy, and it carefully covers the significant events that help to shape the foreign policy narrative in the United States. It is the work of a first-rate scholar who clearly cares about teaching. A rare contribution to our critical analysis of U.S. foreign policy that is so badly needed today.

Steven Lamy

A very good, concise summary suitable for undergraduate students in U.S. International Relations.

Andrew F. Clark

Teachers of American foreign policy often struggle to find the right balance between diplomatic history and contemporary policy debates. In a short and highly readable text, Joyce Kaufman gets the balance just right and provides an anchor for building effective classroom discussions about where we have come from and where we might be headed.

Robert Strong

A welcome addition to texts on U.S. foreign policy. The book provides a very comprehensive and yet succinct overview of theories, the history of U.S. foreign policy from the founding of the country, and a contemporary analysis of foreign policy and considerations for the future. The inclusion of a feminist analysis, which is often neglected in most texts, is also appreciated. The writing is very accessible to students, linking their own lives to how and why foreign policy matters to them.

Kristen P. Williams

A welcome addition to texts on U.S. foreign policy. The book provides a very comprehensive and yet succinct overview of theories, the history of U.S. foreign policy from the founding of the country, and a contemporary analysis of foreign policy and considerations for the future. The inclusion of a feminist analysis, which is often neglected in most texts, is also appreciated. The writing is very accessible to students, linking their own lives to how and why foreign policy matters to them.

Kristen Williams

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION
Kaufman offers a work for political science students that focuses on overarching themes (e.g., national interest), decision processes (e.g., interplay within the executive), and decision makers (e.g., the president, Congress). Recommended.

CHOICE

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION
Written in a lively, student-friendly manner on a subject—the evolution of U.S. foreign policy—with which students are woefully unfamiliar, this slender volume fills a vital role for those instructors who want to acquaint their students with the sweep of the American foreign policy experience without overwhelming the course. The style is lively and engaging. I found the discussion of the early Cold War particularly valuable. A recommended supplement.

Donald M. Snow

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION
Sometimes shorter is better. This compact and carefully written text skillfully analyzes the steady growth of American international reach and the irregular patterns of its involvement abroad.

Barry Hughes

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION
Joyce Kaufman's A Concise History of U.S. Foreign Policy is a wonderfully readable guide. It will be a welcome addition to the classroom.

James Goldgeier