US foreign policy during the Cold War has been analysed from a number of perspectives, generating large bodies of literature attempting to explain its origins, its development and its conclusion. However, there are still many questions left only partially explained. In large part this is because these accounts restrict themselves to a single level of analysis, either the international system, or the structure of the state and society. The first level of analysis, focusing on the role of individuals, has largely been excluded.

This book argues that structural theories, and any...

US Democracy Promotion in the Middle East seeks to explore the changes in US strategy towards democracy promotion in the Middle East during the Clinton and Bush administrations, with a particular focus on Egypt, Iraq and Kuwait.

At a time of regional turmoil and political reform, the topic of democracy promotion has never been more pertinent. We are witnessing the emergence of popular movements that are challenging authoritarian governments long supported by the US. Tracing the contours of the ongoing transition in US policy in the Middle East, this book critically...

President Obama s first term in office was subject to intense criticism; not only did many feel that he had failed to live up to his leadership potential, but that he had actually continued the foreign policy framework of the George W. Bush era he was supposed to have abandoned. This edited volume examines whether these issues of continuity have been equally as prevalent during the president s second term as his first.

Is Obama still acting within the foreign policy shadow of Bush, or has he been able to establish his own approach towards international affairs, distinct from his...

This book investigates the relationship between democracy promotion and US national security strategy through an examination of the Reagan administration's attempt to launch a global campaign for democracy in the early 1980s, which culminated in the foundation of the National Endowment for Democracy in 1983.

Through a case study of the formation and early operations of the National Endowment for Democracy under the Reagan administration, based on primary documents from both the national security bureaucracy and the private sector, this book shows that while democracy promotion...

Contrary to the view held by many who study American foreign policy, public diplomacy has seldom played a decisive role in the achievement of the country's foreign policy objectives. The reasons for this are not that the policies and interventions are ill-conceived or badly executed, although this is sometimes the case. Rather, the factors that limit the effectiveness of public diplomacy lie almost entirely outside the control of American policy-makers. In particular, the resistance of foreign opinion-leaders to ideas and information about American motives and actions that do not square...

A frequent assumption of the American-led war on terror and its accompanying discourse originated largely with the George W. Bush Administration, and that there was a counterterrorism policy revolution in the U.S. political arena. Challenging these assumptions, through a genealogical analysis of U.S. terrorism and counterterrorism discourses, this book demonstrates a distinct continuity (and lack of change) of U.S. counterterrorism policy, from Ronald Reagan, to Bill Clinton, and through to George W. Bush.

The book focuses on President Clinton s discursive construction of new terrorism,...

This book explores US foreign policy, specifically the history of America's entry into the War of 1812, the First World War, the Korean War and the First Gulf War. Using a historical case study approach, it demonstrates how the Wilsonian Framework can give us a unique understanding of why the United States chose to go to war in those four conflicts.

Cox argues that the Wilsonian Framework is an important concern for decision makers in the US and that democracy promotion and the concept of international law are driving factors in each of these decisions to go to war. The...

Memorialised as a US heroine and an iconoclastic humanitarian who sought to protect society's marginalised, Eleanor Roosevelt also, at times, disappointed contemporaries and biographers with some of her stances. Examining a period of her life that has not been extensively explored, this book challenges the previously held universality of Eleanor Roosevelt's humanitarianism.

The Palestinian question is used as a case study to explore the practical application of her commitment to social justice, and the author argues that at times, Roosevelt's humanitarianism was illogical, limited...

This book examines American foreign policy towards the Horn of Africa between 1945 and 1991, with particular emphasis upon the two main countries of that region, Ethiopia and Somalia. Using these countries as case studies, it will offer an evaluation of the decision-making process during the Cold War, and consider the impact that these decisions had upon subsequent developments both within the Horn of Africa and in the wider international context.

This book studies the decision-making process itself, including the role of the president, the input of his advisers and lower...