Democracy and Diplomacy: The Impact of Domestic Politics in U.S. Foreign Policy, 1789-1994 (The American Moment) - Softcover

Small, Melvin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801851785 ISBN 13: 9780801851780

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995

Synopsis

From the Hamiltonian-Jeffersonian split over English and French policy in the 1790s to the Republican-Democratic clash over Haitian policy in the 1990s, Americans and foreign observers have been troubled―and often exasperated―by the extraordinary influence of U.S. domestic politics on matters of vital national security. Some critics, including Alexis de Tocqueville, concluded―that America's democratic system would cripple the effective and efficient conduct of its foreign policy. In this first historical overview of the subject, Melvin Small examines the central role of domestic politics in the shaping and conduct of American foreign policy from the early republic to the end of the Cold War.

About this title

About the Author:

Melvin Small is professor in the Department of History at Wayne State University.

Review:

"Over all, this is a very good book. It is an engaging and convincing survey, and it is written for readers at all levels of expertise. I suspect that it will be quite useful for many courses on American foreign policy in both history and political science."

(T. Clifton Morgan Political Science Quarterly)

"This is a concise and sophisticated analysis which carefully assesses the many internal influences on foreign policy-making in the United States. The author concludes that the impact of domestic politics on foreign policy has not necessarily been bad and has certainly been more successful than the advocates of a more reallpolitikapproach would have it."

(International Affairs)

About this edition

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0801851785
• ISBN 13: 9780801851780
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208