CPOL 635 American Foreign Policy: Institutions and Issues
This course is an overview of the American foreign policy process. The first portion of the course investigates the actors and processes involved in the making of foreign policy. In this section of the course, we will ask and answer questions such as how is the president influenced by public opinion? How do different entities within the intelligence community work together? When are interest groups able to influence foreign policy? The second portion examines how foreign policy actors address select topics - ranging from environmental policy to terrorism to global health issues - in foreign policy. The goal of the course is to reach a better understanding of the pitfalls of making foreign policy. How do institutional arrangements complicate the policy process and, similarly, how do particular issue areas challenge decision makers?