Domestic Politics and U.S. Foreign Policy Decision Making

3 units

This course examines U.S. foreign policy from the perspective of domestic politics, with the aim of understanding how our political institutions affect foreign policy outcomes. The first section of the course provides an overview of the paradigms that have been used to understand foreign policy decision-making and examines the electoral and interest group pressures that influence decisions. The second section studies the chief political branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial) and their role in foreign policy. The final section covers the major bureaucratic agencies involved in foreign policy decisions.