In his eagerly-awaited second edition of American Foreign Policy and Political Ambition, James Ray revisits his deceptively simple premise that the highest priority of leaders is to stay in power. Looking at how political ambition and domestic pressures impact foreign policymaking is the key to understanding how and why foreign policy decisions are made. The text begins by using this analytic approach to look at the history of foreign policymaking and then examines how various parties inside and outside government influence decision making. In a unique third section, the book takes a regional approach, not only covering trends other books tend to miss, but giving students the opportunity to think comprehensively about how issues intersect around the globe—from human security and democratization, to globalization and pollution. Guided by input from adopters and reviewers, Ray has thoroughly re-organized the book and streamlined some coverage to better consolidate the historical, institutional, regional, and topical chapters and focus the thematic lens of the book. Ray has also brought the book fully up-to-date, addressing the latest events in American foreign policy, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the killing of Bin Laden, the WikiLeaks scandal and its aftermath, the impact of social media on foreign policy and world affairs, nuclear proliferation, developments in U.S.-Russian relations, climate change, and more.

This book argues that the period of U.S. neutrality at the beginning of World War II was crucial in developing the concepts of interdependence and national security that remain integral to U.S. foreign policy today.

American Foreign Policy in a New Era utilizes the three major approaches to foreign policy analysis giving students an opportunity to obtain a comprehensive 360 degree understanding of U.S. foreign policy. Students will use the methodologies of history and diplomatic history to develop an understanding of past U.S. foreign policy and how the United States became what it is today in global affairs; employ a variety of social science methodologies used to explore the forces that shape and influence U.S. foreign policy; and they will engage in policy analysis to study in depth five issues-areas in contemporary U.S. foreign policy.

Critical and connected: brings together diverse political perspectives from the world's leading experts, giving students the tools to critically evaluate America's ever-changing role in international politics and to connect theory to real events.