American Foreign Policy

American Foreign Policy helps students develop the critical thinking skills needed to participate in current debates about foreign policy. The 13th edition, updated to include recent events such as the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, emerges at a critical time of rising political tensions at home and abroad.

World affairs are constantly in flux, so students need to be prepared not just to know what’s happening in the headlines but how to make sense of those events. Hastedt’s American Foreign Policy helps students develop the critical thinking skills needed to participate in debates about foreign relations—today and throughout their lives. Rather than focus on normative questions about what direction the country should take on the world stage, this text is designed to provide the historical and institutional context for the foreign policy process, from the governmental and civil society actors involved to the issues that comprise the conduct and content of American foreign policy.

This thirteenth edition comes at a time when Biden’s presidency is facing some of the most important foreign policy questions in a generation, from the U.S.-withdrawal from Afghanistan to what we should do about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These issues have emerged as many of the traditional foundations in American foreign policy have been disrupted during the Trump administration, pleasing some and angering others but almost uniformly raising political tensions at home and abroad. The revision includes up-to-date coverage of the war in Ukraine, the U.S. exit from Afghanistan, health diplomacy and the response to COVID, the resurgence of great power politics, and other features of the Biden administration’s foreign policy.

Features:

• NEW! Learning Objectives frame the expected student outcomes for each chapter
• Updated On the Agenda features open each chapter to set the stage and tie a current policy issue into the chapter content. (formerly called “Dateline”)
• Updated Historical Lesson boxes provide context from the past to help understand today’s policy challenges, including “Applying the Lessons” critical thinking questions
• Updated Over the Horizon chapter-ending features present a speculative view to the future to spur student thinking about how American foreign policy might evolve
• Expanded Critical Thinking Questions at the end of each chapter engage students in higher order thinking beyond rote memorization
• Key Terms lists at the end of each chapter are a useful study aid for students
• Expanded art program includes additional tables to help engage diverse learning styles

“In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this edition explains well the role and the process the United States plays in preserving Post World War II international order.”

Glenn Hastedt offers a practical overview of history, theories, and institutions that shape U.S. foreign policy. Excerpt vignettes throughout the chapters add historical accounts that support the reading. The book's final chapters are dedicated to the output of foreign policy decisions providing readable analysis of complex foreign policy problems. This book will prove valuable to students of foreign policy.

Hastedt allows teachers to cover a wide range of key topics and makes it easy for first-time students to gain basic and applied knowledge about how policy is made. A must-have for an introductory course in US foreign policy.

Glenn P. Hastedt is professor emeritus at James Madison University where he was chair of the Justice Studies Department and prior to that chair of the Political Science Department. He is co-author of Introduction to International Politics: Global Challenges and Policy Responses. He has been teaching American foreign policy and international relations for over thirty years.

World affairs are constantly in flux, so students need to be prepared not just to know what's happening in the headlines but how to make sense of those events. Hastedt's American Foreign Policy helps students develop the critical thinking skills needed to participate in debates about foreign relations--today and throughout their lives. Rather than focus on normative questions about what direction the country should take on the world stage, this text is designed to provide the historical and institutional context for the foreign policy process, from the governmental and civil society actors involved to the issues that comprise the conduct and content of American foreign policy. This thirteenth edition comes at a time when Biden's presidency is facing some of the most important foreign policy questions in a generation, from the U.S.-withdrawal from Afghanistan to what we should do about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These issues have emerged as many of the traditional foundations in American foreign policy have been disrupted during the Trump administration, pleasing some and angering others but almost uniformly raising political tensions at home and abroad. The revision includes up-to-date coverage of the war in Ukraine, the U.S. exit from Afghanistan, health diplomacy and the response to COVID, the resurgence of great power politics, and other features of the Biden administration's foreign policy. Features:

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