Fall 2007

GOV 379S • US Foreign Policy: Past and Present

Course Description

This class examines the evolution of American grand strategy since World War II, with special emphasis on the president's role in defining the nations interests. Drawing on historical and contemporary cases, we will consider how international circumstances and domestic politics shape the presidents geopolitical priorities and how those priorities have changed over time. The course is designed to increase your knowledge of how US foreign policy is made and why Americas leaders pursue the grand strategies they do.

Grading Policy

Three in-class exams One five-page take-home essay

Texts

John Lewis Gaddis, Strategies of Containment, revised edition (Oxford 2005) James Mann, Rise of the Vulcans (Viking 2004) Reading packet

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