United States Foreign Policy

Undergraduate

This class examines U.S. foreign policy since World War II. We analyze foreign policy decisions from the perspectives of the people who have made them: appreciating how policymakers’ backgrounds and worldviews guide their behavior and recognizing the challenge of acting without the benefit of hindsight. The course explains how U.S. foreign policy is continually shaped and reshaped by clashing visions of what America’s global role should entail—and how, in attempting to implement those visions, policymakers contend with factors such as domestic politics, bureaucratic constraints, misperceptions, and unexpected events. By examining how policymakers have attempted to navigate these challenges in different ways, students will gain a deeper understanding of what U.S. foreign policy entails, how it gets made, where it could be improved, and how to analyze those topics systematically. Course material proceeds chronologically from 1945 to the present day, devoting roughly equal attention to the Cold War and post-Cold War eras. We cover topics including decisions to use military force, international trade, covert action, intelligence analysis, human rights, arms control, development assistance, and relations with the United Nations. The course involves roughly 100 pages of required reading per week, on average. It evaluates student performance through in-class midterms, a research paper, and an oral exam during finals period. The course has no prerequisites and is suitable for students with any level of background knowledge in international relations.