Book Reviews : Foreign Policy and National Defense. By LAURENCE RADWAY. (Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Co., 1969. Pp. 207.)
| Date | 01 December 1970 |
| Author | Fouad Ajami |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591297002300431 |
| Published date | 01 December 1970 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
896
operation
and
when,
also
for
the
first
time,
communications
technology
was
able
to
convey
an
absolutely
destructive
impact
of
war
cruelty
and
world
criticism
alike.
But
again,
if
so,
this
could
also
support
the
point
of
the
author
that
overwhelm-
ingly,
foreign
events,
not
domestic
crises
have
caused
an
American
international
adaptation.
The
author’s
interpretations
of
the
meaning
and
implications
of
various
steps
and
his
recommendations
for
a
more
rational
American
behavior
are
normally
expressed
in
a
manner,
seemingly
admitting
little
or
no
room
for
any
doubt.
This
may
be
a
reflection
of
the
physical
limitations
for
the
book
set
by
the
editor
and
publisher.
Possibly,
it
may
also
reflect
a
genuine
conviction
held
by
the
author
about
the
indisputable
soundness
of
his
own
views
-
including
policy
recommen-
dations.
Irrespective
of
the
correct
explanation,
a
reader
less
positive
than
the
author,
may
be
reminded
of
Lord
Melbourne’s
famous
dictum
as
Prime
Minister
about
his
later
illustrious
colleague
Macaulay:
&dquo;I
wish
I
was
as
cocksure
about
anything
as
Macaulay
is
about
everything.&dquo;
Finally,
however,
this
is
also
to
say
that
Haas’
book
on
the
web
of
interde-
pendence
has
the
major
merit
of
being
very
stimulating,
full
of
points
which
should
provoke
constructive
questioning
or
even
disagreement.
Stockholm
NILS
ANDRÉN
Foreign
Policy
and
National
Defense.
By
LAURENCE
RADWAY.
(Glenview,
Illinois:
Scott,
Foresman
and
Co.,
1969.
Pp.
207.)
Students
of
political
science
are
becoming
aware
of
the
resurgence
of
interest
in
the
study
of
American
foreign
policy.
A
legitimate
concern
in
the
aftermath
of
World
War
II,
its
theorists
and
observers
later
moved
beyond
it
to
the
broader
study
of
international
politics.
Yet
the
war
in
Vietnam
seems
to
have
revived
the
interest
in
American
foreign
policy.
This
is
testified
to
by
the
recent
scholarly
out-
put
on
the
subject.
The
book
under
review
is
representative
of
this
recent
and
justifiable
concern.
Radway
proceeds
from
the
premise
that
the
foreign
policy
of
any
country
is
the
product
of
two
variables;
the
nature
of
the
country
and
the
state
of
the
inter-
national
system
at
large.
The
outcome
of
his
premise
is
an
excellent
study
that
relates
American
foreign
policy
to
its
domestic
and
international
environments.
On
the
domestic
front,
the
author
has
a
clear
perspective
of
the
decision-making
pro-
cess
and
its
complexity.
Though
aware
of
the
power
of
the
Presidency,
he
out-
lines
a
pluralistic
model
of
foreign
policy
formation
giving
due
weight
to
Congress,
the
federal
bureaucracy,
the
academic
community,
the
military,
the
press,
and
the
private
sector.
Perhaps
his
appreciation
of
these
different
centers
of
power
is
not
all
that
novel,
but
the
attention
he
pays
to
the
power
of
the
private
sector
is
a
welcomed
phenomenon.
Foreign
policy
has
been
traditionally
viewed
as
the
exclu-
sive
realm
of
governments
dealing
with
one
another.
Radway
devotes
an
entire
chapter
to
the
power
of
the
private
sector
where
he
addresses
himself
to
the
role
that
notables,
organized
labor,
private
corporations
and
various
interest
groups
play
in
the
making
of
American
foreign
policy.
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