US Foreign Policy in Action: An Innovative Teaching Text

This innovative teaching text on United States foreign policy interprets the foreign policy decision-making process through the lens of political debate and exchange.  It introduces historical developments and theories of U.S. foreign policy and engages students in the politics of the foreign policy process through innovative learning exercises.

• Features critical analysis of contemporary trends in U.S. foreign policy, including debates in the Obama administration, foreign policy and the 2012 presidential election, and reaction to the Arab Spring
• Written by an award-winning teacher-scholar in international relations, with extensive experience in both policy making and pedagogy
• Views foreign policy decision making through the lends of political debate
• Offers fresh perspectives on historical developments as well as surveying prominent foreign policy theories
• Includes new and innovative participatory learning exercises exploring a range of themes including executive/ legislature conflict
• Contains extensive teaching and learning applications, including discussion questions, document templates, worksheets, suggested readings, and links to web resources throughout 

Jeffrey S. Lantis is Professor of Political Science at The College of Wooster, USA. He teaches courses on U.S. foreign policy, international security, comparative foreign policy, and war and peace on film. A former Fulbright Senior Scholar at the Australian National University, Lantis is author of The Life and Death of International Treaties (2009), and co-editor of Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective: Domestic and International Influences on State Behavior (2012). He is past president of the Active Learning in International Affairs Section of the International Studies Association (ISA), and has directed numerous workshops on active learning approaches. In 2010, he was co-recipient of the Deborah J. Gerner Innovative Teaching Award in International Studies, the highest teaching award bestowed by the ISA.