A Fresh Approach. In his new core text, James L. Ray raises the bar for the study of American foreign policy, bringing original insight, crisper writing, and—at last—the most current theories to bear on the subject. Though he draws upon the realist, liberal, and radical perspectives, instead of relying on traditional axioms such as “states seek power,” or “states seek security,” Ray starts from the premise that the highest priority of leaders is to stay in power. Ray keenly observes that how leaders respond to their most important domestic constituents is the key to understanding why and how foreign policy decisions are made.

In chapters detailing the history of American foreign policy, Ray shows how domestic pressures have shaped in stunning ways foreign policymaking from the birth of the nation, through expansion and annexation, and right up through the Bush administration’s Iraq War. Then, covering the policymaking process, Ray analyzes how various parties inside and outside government influence decisionmaking, with detailed discussions of the role of the media, public opinion, interest groups, the various federal agencies, Congress, and the executive. Ray shows how the ongoing debates around domestic economic and social policies—like social security and Medicare—have always played a part in the process.

Regional Organization. Rather than looking at successive “issues,” the book’s final takes a regional approach, allowing students to think comprehensively about how different sets of issues—human security, democratization, intervention, globalization, pollution, interstate wars—intersect in specific ways in each of the various regions of the globe. Covering the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia in turn, Ray deals with events and trends that other books tend to miss.

Great Writing, Great Pedagogy. Written in candid and refreshingly jargon-free prose, the text nonetheless delivers the most current scholarship and information. Richly illustrated with maps, photos, tables, and figures students get a strong graphical sense of the importance of the interplay of domestic and foreign concerns. Pedagogical features like “Lessons Learned” boxes and lists of key terms in every chapter reinforce the book’s central approach.

Strong Teaching and Learning Support. A suite of ancillary materials help students and instructors prepare for class and exams, including a testbank and PowerPoint lecture slides.

1. The Impact of American Foreign Policy

2. The Past as Prologue: American Foreign Policy from the American Revolution Through World War II
The Proclamation of the Monroe Doctrine
U.S. Expansion in the 19th Century
The Foreign Politics of the Civil War
Further Expansion
The Differing Fates of North and South America
Foreign Policy Challenges in the First Half of the Twentieth Century
Conclusion

3. Analyzing Modern American Foreign Policy: Competing Approaches
Realism: The Predominant Theory
Liberalism: The Main Alternative
Neoconservatism: A Hybrid?
Radical and Traditional Leftist Approaches
Modern, “Anti-Establishment” Approaches
Rational Political Ambition Theory
Conclusion

4. Economics and Politics: Globalization and American Foreign Policy
The United States in the World Economy: The Lessons of the 1930s
Applying the Lessons of the 1930s: The Bretton Woods System
American Foreign Policy and the Responsibilities of the “Hegemon”
The War in Vietnam, and the “End of the Bretton Woods System”
President Nixon “Reforms” the Bretton Woods System
The Impact of OPEC, and the Reaction by Ronald Regan
The End of the Cold War, and American Revival?
The Beginning of the Twenty-first Century: New Challenges
Conclusion

5. American Foreign Policy Processes: The Role of the Public, the Media, Interest Groups, and Political Parties
Public Opinion and Foreign Policy: Should it Have an Impact?
Public Opinion and Foreign Policy: What does the Public Want?
Public Opinion on U.S. Military Actions
The Impact of Anticipated Public Reactions
Mass Communications and Foreign Policy
Creating Public Opinion
The CNN Effect?
“Special Interests,” Interest Groups, and Foreign Policy
Conclusion: The Impact of Extra-governmental Sources on U.S. Foreign Policy

6. Foreign Policy Processes within the Government
The Role of the Department of State
The National Security Council: A Pseudo-State Department?
The Department of Defense
The Intelligence Community
Congress and American Foreign Policy
The President and American Foreign Policy

7. The Beginning of the Cold War
Strains in the World War II Coalition
Was the Onset of the Cold War Primarily the Responsibility of the United States?
Or, Was the Onset of the Cold War Primarily the Fault of the Soviet Union?
Or, Was the Onset of the Cold War Brought About Largely by the Structure of the International System After World War II?
Conclusion

8. Vietnam: The Unnecessary War?
The Origins of the War in Vietnam
Kennedy’s Fateful Decisions
The Definitive Decisions to Escalate
The Denouement: Choices by Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger
How Could the United States Lose This War?
What Lessons Should Have Been (and Were) Learned?
Conclusion

9. The United States and Europe: A Parting of the Ways?
The Early Cold War Years
The Beginnings of European Integration: The Failure of the European Defense Force
Another Attempt: Launching European Economic Integration
Early Tensions Between France and the United States
The 1970s: A Time of Troubles for the European Community?
The Rebirth of the Cold War, and the U.S.-European Relations
The End of the Cold War in Europe
Dealing with the Post-Cold War Era
Expanding NATO, or Expanding the EU?
The War against Serbia over Kosovo
U.S.-European Relations During the Bush Administration
Conclusion

10. Interamerican Relations
Early U.S. Interventions in Latin America
The Good Neighbor Policy
Exit the Good Neighbor Policy, Enter the Cold War
Nixon’s Trip to Venezuela
Confrontation Between the United States and Cuba: The Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis
The Onset and the Demise of the Alliance for Progress
President Johnson and the Dominican Republic
The Rise and Fall of Salvadore Allende
Bringing the Cold War to an End in Latin America
Interamerican Relations after the End of the Cold War
Conclusion

11. The United States and Sub-Saharan Africa
The Forging of the Link: The Slave Trade
The Creation of Liberia
U.S.-African Relations in the Early 20th Century
World War II and its Aftermath
U.S.-African Relations During the Cold War
U.S. Policies on Sub-Saharan Africa After the End of the Cold War
U.S. Foreign Policy in Africa in the Era of the Global War on Terrorism
Conclusion

12.The United States in Asia: The Coming Clash with China?
Is Europe’s Past Asia’s Future?
The United States Enters Asia
The Chinese Civil War and the Role of the United States
The Korean War and the U.S.-Chinese Relationship
The Evolving Cold War Relationship Between the United States, China, and Soviet Union
Power Transition Theory and the Future of U.S.-Chinese Relations
U.S. Foreign Policy Alternatives for Dealing with China
The Taiwan Issue
Conclusion

13. The United States and the Middle East: Israel, Oil, and Terrorists
The Emergence of Israel
From War to War
The Oslo Accords, and the Road to Peace?
U.S. Policies in the Rest of the Middle East
Conclusion

14. U.S. Foreign Policy in the 21st Century
Lessons from the End of the Cold War?
“Containment” Ended the Cold War?
Did Reagan’s “Rollback” Policies End the Cold War?
A Critique of the “Roll Back” Policies of Ronald Reagan
The Relationship Between Reagan’s Foreign Policies and the “Bush Doctrine”
Priorities for the Future in the Middle East
Priorities Outside the Middle East
The Global Environment
Conclusion

"This book is an exceptionally good account of American foreign policy. It provides a thorough survey of major decisions and events and it clearly conveys how one’s perspective on foreign relations influences our understanding of, and explanations for, these crucial occurrences. Particular attention is paid to demonstrating that domestic political considerations influence presidential decisions on foreign policy. A book such as this, that explicitly intertwines theory with historical narrative, is long overdue. Instructors, as well as students, will find this book informative, thought provoking, and extremely useful."

"American Foreign Policy and Political Ambition distinguishes itself from other, more standard texts on American foreign policy in two ways. First, James L. Ray provides a theoretical underpinning to his presentation of his ‘rational political ambition theory,’ which assumes that political leaders are motivated by a desire to remain in power and that foreign policies are chosen in important ways on the basis of their anticipated affect on the leader’s support. Second, Ray brings much of the recent work on international relations to bear on specific issues and topics of U.S. foreign policy, illustrating how U.S. behavior can be viewed fruitfully from more general theoretical perspectives. These features are presented and illustrated through a coherent and rigorous analysis of a history of U.S. foreign policy. This is bound to become a widely used book."

“If educators want to teach their students to think carefully and critically about foreign policy, Ray’s American Foreign Policy and Political Ambition is the best book available. The theme of political ambition usefully organizes a variety of events, and the historical discussion is balanced.”

“While covering the fundamentals (the historical background, theoretical approaches, economics, decision-making processes, and United States policies toward the various regions), Ray also brings a distinctive perspective to the study of U.S. foreign policy in that these factors are analyzed through the lens of ‘rational political ambition theory.’ Ray contends that much of U.S. foreign policy can be explained by leaders’ (particularly U.S. presidents’) determination to retain political power. The work provides persuasive evidence of the interaction of individual-level factors with domestic and interstate politics to yield U.S. foreign policy. Instructors will find that the book is well suited to courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level, and researchers will also benefit from the breadth and depth of analysis as well as the eclectic theoretical perspective of this senior International Relations scholar.”

James Ray received his B.A. from Ohio State, and PhD from the University of Michigan. He has held positions at SUNY-Fredonia, the University of New Mexico, Florida State University, and is currently at Vanderbilt University. His research and writing have focused on international conflict, and most recently on the relationship of democracy to conflict. His introductory text on international relations has been published in 8 editions since 1979.