US Presidential Elections and Foreign Policy: Candidates, Campaigns, and Global Politics from FDR to Bill Clinton

by Andrew Johnstone (Editor), Andrew Priest (Editor)

Overview

While domestic issues loom large in voters' minds during American presidential elections, matters of foreign policy have consistently shaped candidates and their campaigns. From the start of World War II through the collapse of the Soviet Union, presidential hopefuls needed to be perceived as credible global leaders in order to win elections—regardless of the situation at home—and voter behavior depended heavily on whether the nation was at war or peace. Yet there is little written about the importance of foreign policy in US presidential elections or the impact of electoral issues on the formation of foreign policy.

In US Presidential Elections and Foreign Policy, a team of international scholars examines how the relationship between foreign policy and electoral politics evolved through the latter half of the twentieth century. Covering all presidential elections from 1940 to 1992—from debates over American entry into World War II to the aftermath of the Cold War—the contributors correct the conventional wisdom that domestic issues and the economy are always definitive. Together they demonstrate that, while international concerns were more important in some campaigns than others, foreign policy always matters and is often decisive. This illuminating commentary fills a significant gap in the literature on presidential and electoral politics, emphasizing that candidates' positions on global issues have a palpable impact on American foreign policy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813169057
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	05/05/2017
Series:	Studies in Conflict, Diplomacy, and Peace
Pages:	374
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Andrew Johnstone is associate professor of American history at the University of Leicester. He is the author of Against Immediate Evil: American Internationalists and the Four Freedoms on the Eve of World War II. Andrew Priest is senior lecturer in history at the University of Essex. He is the author of Kennedy, Johnson and NATO: Britain, America and the Dynamics of Alliance, 1962–68.

Table of Contents

Introduction Andrew Johnstone Andrew Priest 1

1 "A Godsend to the Country"? Roosevelt, Willkie, and the Election of 1940 Andrew Johnstone 19

2 FDR's Closest Contender: Thomas E. Dewey and the 1944 Election J. Simon Rofe 40

3 Containing Challenges: The Triumphs of Harry Truman in the Presidential Election of 1948 Michael F. Hopkins 61

4 Confirming the Cold War Consensus: Eisenhower and the 1952 Election Steven Casey 82

5 When Public Opinion Does Not Shape Foreign Policy: Suez, Hungary, and Eisenhower in the 1956 Presidential Election Scott Lucas 105

6 Leadership Experience in the Cold War: Cuba, Khrushchev, and Quemoy-Matsu in the 1960 Presidential Election Campaign Sylvia Ellis 128

7 The Virtues of Moderation: Foreign Policy and the 1964 Presidential Election Thomas Tunstall Allcock 154

8 Every Way Out: Vietnam, American National Identity, and the 1968 Presidential Election Sandra Scanlon 177

9 The Peace Candidate: Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and the Election of 1972 Thomas Alan Schwartz 203

10 Dealing with Defeat: Gerald R. Ford, Foreign Policy, and the 1976 Election Andrew Priest 229

11 The Domestic Politics of War and Peace: Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and the Election of 1980 Robert Mason 250

12 1984, Regional Crises, and Morning in America: The Predawn of the Reagan Era David Ryan 271

13 Ending the Cold War without Debate: Foreign Policy and the 1988 Election Robert A. Strong 293

14 Internationalism Challenged: Foreign Policy Issues in the 1992 Presidential Election John Dumbrell 317

Conclusion Robert David Johnson 336

Acknowledgments 347

List of Contributors 349

Index 355

Editorial Reviews

This book is part of an important trend in examining the connection between domestic policies and foreign policy. Its chapters will have enduring relevance.

Elizabeth N. Saunders

With straightforward organization — each chapter covers one campaign — the book makes an illuminating foray into how US domestic politics may inform its foreign policy, as well as how events abroad may sometimes shape election outcomes.

H-Diplo

Johnson and Priest have provided readers with a comprehensive volume that sets out a clear baseline for the relationship between US presidential elections and foreign policy. The contributions to this volume not only make their historiographical interventions clear, they also raise questions that will force us to continue to consider closely the relationship between politics and foreign relations in future scholarship.

Passport

"This book is part of an important trend in examining the connection between domestic policies and foreign policy. Its chapters will have enduring relevance." — Elizabeth N. Saunders, author of Leaders at War: How Presidents Shape Military Interventions

"With straightforward organization — each chapter covers one campaign — the bookmakes an illuminating foray into how US domestic politics may inform its foreign policy, as well as how events abroad may sometimes shape election outcomes." — H-Diplo

"Johnson and Priest have provided readers with a comprehensive volume that sets out a clear baseline for the relationship between US presidential elections and foreign policy. The contributions to this volume not only make their historiographical interventions clear, they also raise questions that will force us to continue to consider closely the relationship between politics and foreign relations in future scholarship." — Passport

From the Publisher