POLI225

As the 21st century unfolds the United States is the world's most powerful state. This course studies the growth of that power from the American Revolution to the early 20th century by examining the variables influencing the formulation of foreign policy. We will seek to comprehend the basic issues, principles, objectives, means, and outcomes of American foreign policy. Attention will be directed to: the constraints and opportunities emanating from the external environment; the principled ends of American foreign policy; the role of ideology (the interplay of principle, mythologizing, and conceptions of self interest), and, of course, domestic politics.