Domestic politics and U.S. foreign policy: A study of cold war conflict behavior

Will H. Moore, David J. Lanoue

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study reexamines an empirical claim that is broadly accepted in international relations: during the Cold War U.S. foreign policy belligerence was influenced strongly by domestic factors. We develop a rational expectations theory that produces hypotheses that are at odds with that result. We test our hypotheses and report findings that are both consistent with our rational expectations theory and inconsistent with the "domestic effects" hypothesis. We thus conclude that international politics, rather than domestic politics, was the primary determinant of U.S. foreign policy behavior during the Cold War.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)376-396
Number of pages21
JournalJournal of Politics
Volume65
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2003
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Domestic politics and U.S. foreign policy: A study of cold war conflict behavior'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this