The Cold War at Home and Abroad: Domestic Politics and US Foreign Policy since 1945 (Studies In Conflict Diplomacy Peace)

From President Truman's use of a domestic propaganda agency to Ronald Reagan's handling of the Soviet Union during his 1984 reelection campaign, the American political system has consistently exerted a profound effect on the country's foreign policies. Americans may cling to the belief that "politics stops at the water's edge," but the reality is that parochial political interests often play a critical role in shaping the nation's interactions with the outside world. In The Cold War at Home and Abroad: Domestic Politics and US Foreign Policy since 1945 , editors Andrew L. Johns and Mitchell B. Lerner bring together eleven essays that reflect the growing methodological diversity that has transformed the field of diplomatic history over the past twenty years. The contributors examine a spectrum of diverse domestic factors ranging from traditional issues like elections and Congressional influence to less frequently studied factors like the role of religion and regionalism, and trace their influence on the history of US foreign relations since 1945. In doing so, they highlight influences and ideas that expand our understanding of the history of American foreign relations, and provide guidance and direction for both contemporary observers and those who shape the United States' role in the world. This expansive volume contains many lessons for politicians, policy makers, and engaged citizens as they struggle to implement a cohesive international strategy in the face of hyper-partisanship at home and uncertainty abroad.

From President Truman's use of a domestic propaganda agency to Ronald Reagan's handling of the Soviet Union during his 1984 reelection campaign, the American political system has consistently exerted a profound effect on the country's foreign policies. Americans may cling to the belief that "politics stops at the water's edge," but the reality is that parochial political interests often play a critical role in shaping the nation's interactions with the outside world.

In The Cold War at Home and Abroad: Domestic Politics and US Foreign Policy since 1945, editors Andrew L. Johns and Mitchell B. Lerner bring together eleven essays that reflect the growing methodological diversity that has transformed the field of diplomatic history over the past twenty years. The contributors examine a spectrum of diverse domestic factors ranging from traditional issues like elections and Congressional influence to less frequently studied factors like the role of religion and regionalism, and trace their influence on the history of US foreign relations since 1945. In doing so, they highlight influences and ideas that expand our understanding of the history of American foreign relations, and provide guidance and direction for both contemporary observers and those who shape the United States' role in the world.

This expansive volume contains many lessons for politicians, policy makers, and engaged citizens as they struggle to implement a cohesive international strategy in the face of hyper-partisanship at home and uncertainty abroad.

Front cover Copyright page Contents Introduction 1 Fact Givers or Fact Makers? 2 From Hawk to Dawk 3 Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson and the Intersection between Domestic Politics and Foreign Relations in the Postwar Era 4 Religious Pluralism, Domestic Politics, and the Emerging Jewish-Evangelical Coalition on Israel, 1960–1980 5 Subtraction by Addition 6 “One Picture May Not Be Worth Ten Thousand Words, but the White House Is Betting It’s Worth Ten Thousand Votes” 7 Creating an Ethnic Lobby 8 Forging Consensus on Vietnamese Reeducation Camp Detainees 9 The Congressional Human Rights Caucus and the Plight of the Refuseniks 10 Peace through Austerity 11 The Domestic Politics of Superpower Rapprochement Conclusion Acknowledgments Contributors Index "In The Cold War at Home and Abroad, editors Andrew L. Johns and Mitchell B. Lerner bring together eleven essays that reflect the growing methodological diversity that has transformed the field over the past twenty years. The contributors examine a spectrum of diverse domestic factors and their influence on the history of US foreign relations since 1945, ranging from elections and Congress's influence on policy to the role of religion and regionalism"-- Provided by publisher In The Cold War at Home and Abroad, the editors bring together eleven essays that reflect the growing methodological diversity that has transformed the field of diplomatic history over the past twenty years.