The Public Dimension of Foreign Policy

How does U.S. foreign policy get made? Why are official statements on foreign policy so often unclear? What shapes citizens' perceptions of international events? Who pays for public advocacy of global issues? What is the influence of academe in government decisions? Why has Congress become the catalyst in the national debate on U.S. foreign policy? In The Public Dimension of Foreign Policy , former Under Secretary of State and Ambassador David Newsom offers a trenchant analysis and a long-term insider's view of how our foreign policy is shaped and sometimes mis-shaped.Beginning with an explanation of the constitutional basis of free expression and public pressures, the book focuses on the individual elements that create both perceptions of events and the impetus for action. Detailed case studies look at the negotiations over the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II); Nicaragua after the fall of Somoza; apartheid in South Africa; and the civil war in Angola. This book, full of practical insights from a keen observer, is a must for anyone who wants to know how the United States makes its foreign policy.The advance reviews include: 'A quiet, restrained, but expert and highly professional assessment of the relationship of foreign policy and the public in America' - Kirkus Reviews . 'If foreign policy is your game, whether you're a player, a fan, a critic, or a student, keep this volume handy at your work station. It's a guide book, a how-to book, an insider's book, an outsider's book all in one. David Newsom has to be the ultimate professional in this vital American pastime' - William German, Editor, San Francisco Chronicle .'Out of his vast experience as a diplomat, scholar and interlocutor with the American press, David Newsom has written a thorough yet lively review of the many public and political factors that affect the making of U.S. foreign policy. He cites chapter and verse from Angola to Yugoslavia in explaining and analyzing the external pressures on contemporary U.S. diplomacy' - Don Oberdorfer, Journalist-in-residence, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Former Washington Post diplomatic correspondent.