Synopsis
Foreign policy in the new millennium looks different from the traditional state-centered, top-down edicts issued by nation states throughout the 20th century. New actors and new institutions interact with established countries and contexts in a global environment of increasing complexity. Laura Neack draws on examples that range from the Dalai Lama and Pinochet to Amnesty International and Al Qaeda to illustrate the changing character of foreign policymaking and also to suggest its powerful effects in a world turned upside down as much by peacemaking as by terrorism.
Booknews
Neack's (political science, Miami U. in Oxford, Ohio) undergraduate text examines the changing character of contemporary foreign policy making. At the individual level, Neack discusses how scholars have studied leadership, rational decision making, cognition, leaders' moral positions and value stands. At the state level, she explores the shaping of foreign policy by national self-image and culture, democratic institutions and peaceful foreign policy, and the influences of domestic political opposition, partisan politics, public opinion, interest groups, and the media. At the system level, Neack discusses the interaction of power and position on foreign policy behavior. She then examines multilevel policy analysis, and the influence of nonstate actors on policy making. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)