American Foreign Policy and Process (with Infotrac) [With Infotrac]

McCormick does a very good job of presenting the history of U.S. foreign policy in a very readible manner that shouldn't scare off a layperson to the discipline, but also provides a usable reference volume to the person who is read in the discipline as well. This work gives a very good summation of the history of United States foreign policy, especially the ideologies involved and how they evolved over time as the U.S. sought to reconcile its growing global role following the War of 1812 with these very real ideological constraints. McCormick very effecively traces through the evolution of these ideologies over the course of two centuries. Then, McCormick goes into a discussion of the process of policy making. He discusses the role of the president, the Congress, and the foreign policy bureacracies in the formulation of policy making. One important area of discussion is the rivalries amongst the varied executive bureaucracies, first and foremost that between the National Security Agency and the State Department. McCormick also summarizes two prominent theories regarding the impact of public opinion on foreign policy. Overall, this is a very readable volume. It isn't going to scare away a reasonably educated lay person, however it also provides a useful reference for someone well read in this field. It also serves as an excellent introduction to the field for an undergraduate university student.