Offers a unique way of looking at American foreign policy after the collapse of the Berlin Wall
Identifies and explains swings between engagement and disengagement in recent US foreign policy
Provides a survey of American foreign policy since the end of the Cold War through the lens of different presidencies
Suggests future implications of these sources of cyclical change in US foreign policy
This book describes how American international policy alternates between engagement and disengagement cycles in world affairs. These cycles provide a unique way to understand, assess, and describe fluctuations in America’s involvement or non-involvement overseas. In addition to its basic thesis, the book presents a fair-minded account of four presidents’ foreign policies in the post-Cold War period: George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. It suggests recurring sources of cyclical change, along with implications for the future. An engaged or involved foreign policy entails the use of military power and diplomatic pressure against other powers to secure American ends. A disengaged on noninvolved policy relies on normal economic and political interaction with other states, which seeks to disassociation from entanglements.