The United States still faces no credible rival to challenge its supremacy, even after years of economic crisis and war. And yet, the very sources that give rise to its primacy—exceptionalism, the diffusion of power, and the involvement of civil society in the foreign policy process—also create vulnerabilities.

The new third edition of U.S. Foreign Policy provides students with a concise and accessible overview of this foreign policy paradox, and highlights the challenges facing policy makers.

Key updates include complete coverage of President Obama’s first year in office, the administration’s new emphasis on engagement, the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the economic crisis. Students will also find a thorough review of the lessons of the Bush administration, including examinations of the rivalry between the State and Defense Departments, intelligence breakdowns, human rights controversies, and unilateralism.

Instructors will appreciate the chapter organization, crisp writing, pedagogical features, and overall brevity that they have come to expect from this bestseller.

The new third edition of U.S. Foreign Policy provides students with a concise and accessible overview of this foreign policy paradox, and highlights the challenges facing policy makers. Key updates include complete coverage of President Obama’s first year in office, the administration’s new emphasis on engagement, the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the economic crisis. Students will also find a thorough review of the lessons of the Bush administration, including examinations of the rivalry between the State and Defense Departments, intelligence breakdowns, human rights controversies, and unilateralism. Instructors will appreciate the chapter organization, crisp writing, pedagogical features, and overall brevity that they have come to expect from this bestseller.

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PART I The Setting of U.S. Foreign Policy  

1 The United States in a Turbulent World
Snapshot: The United States in the World
Challenges to U.S. Primacy
The Paradox of America’s World Power

2 The Expansion of U.S. Power
Economic and Territorial Expansion
Fighting Two World Wars
Global Primacy and the Cold War
New Challenges after the Cold War

3 Dynamics of Decision Making
The Global Context: Rival Perspectives
Opening the “Black Box”: Foreign Policy as Rational Action?
The Impact of Civil Society
Coping with Bureauocratic Politics
The Human Factor

PART II Inside-Out: Government Sources of Foreign Policy  

4 Presidential Power
The Constitution’s Mixed Blessing
Presidential Prerogative in the “Zone of Twilight”
Structures of the “Presidential Branch”
Judicial Interventions in Foreign Policy

5 Congress Beyond the “Water’s Edge”
Trends in Legislative-Executive Relations
Legislating Foreign Policy
The Power of the Purse

6 The Foreign Policy Bureaucracy
Agency Dysfunctions and the Paradox of World Power
The Diplomatic Complex
The Security Complex
The Intelligence Complex
The Economic Complex

PART III Outside-In: External Sources of Foreign Policy  

7 Public Opinion at Home and Abroad
Democracy and the Paradox of World Power
Public Opinion since World War II
Group Identities and Foreign Policy Views

8 The Impact of Mass Communications
Functions of the News Media
Patterns of Foreign News Coverage 
Government Efforts to Control the Message
“Framing” U.S. Foreign Policy
The Seduction of “Soft News”
The Internet’s Window on the World
The Foreign Policy Blogosphere
Online News and Views from Overseas

9 Social Movements and Interest Groups
Group Action and the Paradox
Dynamics of Social Movements
Types of Foreign Policy NGOs
Group Strategies and Tactics
Buying Power: The Corporate Connection

PART IV Policy Domains

10 National Security and Defense Policy
The Foundation of Strategy
Justifying the Use of Force
The Nuclear Shadow
Waging War on Terrorism

11 Economic Statecraft
Models of Political Economy
The Balance of Economic Power
Trade Policy as a “Two-Level Game”
National Interests and Foreign Aid
Economic Sanctions as a Policy Tool

12 Transnational Policy Problems
Managing the Global Commons
The Immigration Debate
The Dangers of Weapons Proliferation
Promoting Human Rights and Democracy

Appendix A: U.S. Administrations since World War II
Appendix B: The War Powers Resolution of 1973

Glossary
References
Credits
Index
Subject Index

Steven Hook’s U.S. Foreign Policy is an exemplary introductory text, capturing the paradoxes and complexities of American policy while remaining accessible, engaging, and theoretically coherent. Students will appreciate its clarity and intuitive layout, while instructors will value its thoughtful treatment of the full range of institutional actors, structures, and processes shaping American foreign policy. Comprehensive, visually appealing, and compatible with a wide range of perspectives, it is an ideal core text for upper-division political science courses with a strong conceptual and institutional focus. - Andrew Flibbert, Trinity College

U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power is a timely and accessible work that examines the limitations of American preeminence in a time of increasing global complexity. Hook provides a clear, informative, and comprehensive analysis of domestic and international dynamics that shape American foreign policy decisions. The author includes key historical developments and theories of international relations that elucidates elite decision making. My undergraduate students found the book to be engaging, provoking discussion and debate on the challenging role that confronts the United States today. - Debra Sabia, Georgia Southern University

This is one of the best texts I have used that fundamentally grapples with the complexities and constraints of American foreign policy in the 21st century. The framework of the ‘Paradox of Power’ carries even greater explanatory power than before and is easily incorporated into the debates over the War in Iraq and the War in Afghanistan, in addition to other important policy domains such as trade, globalization (and all that it brings), and the environment. Moreover, the book makes a strong connection between the internal and external variables that impact foreign policy; in sum, this is the type of comprehensive text that students can grasp and employ in developing their own understanding of American foreign policy. - Peter Loedel, West Chester University

Steven W. Hook is professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at Kent State University. He is author, most recently, of American Foreign Policy since World War II (with John Spanier, 18th ed.). He is also author of National Interest and Foreign Aid and editor of Democracy and Peace in Theory and Practice, Comparative Foreign Policy: Adaptation Strategies of the Great and Emerging Powers and Foreign Aid toward the Millennium. His articles have appeared in such journals as World Politics, International Studies Quarterly, International Interactions, Foreign Policy Analysis, and Asian Survey. Hook is a past president of the Foreign Policy Analysis sections of the International Studies Association and the American Political Science Association.