Customer Reviews

The Impact of Public Opinion on U.S. Foreign Policy Since Vietnam: Constraining the Colossus

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This book is a study of the influence of public opinion on foreign policy making during the Vietnam war, the contra aid controversy, the Persian Gulf war, and the Bosnia crisis. The public opinion research is based on polls and the policy research on statements of and interviews with the actual decision makers. The book shows how public opinion influences major decisions about interventions. It argues that public opinion limits but doesn't set intervention policy. Clearly and simply written, the book explains a major part of how democracy works in U.S. foreign policy. I enjoyed and learned a lot from reading it.

This book does not add much to our knowledge of public opinion and foreign policy. It basically rehashes arguments that were made over 30 years ago by Key and Mueller. Given the accumulated knowledge of the Public Opinion subfield of Political Science, the author could have offered a great deal more insight. The book may be easy to read, but that is because there just isn't much of substance. If you want a quick reference to opinion poll results and self-serving statements by policy-makers, this book is for you. If you want to learn about public opinion, look elsewhere.