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This module considers how the end of the Cold War and the ‘bipolar world’ dominated by the US and the Soviet Union has affected American foreign policy, both before and after 9/11. The course examines the foreign policies of successive Presidents in the Post-Cold War era from George H Bush to Joe Biden before focusing on US foreign policy in the main geopolitical regions of Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific, and Africa, including US ‘special relationships’ with states such as the United Kingdom, Israel and Japan. Key themes include continued tensions between the US and Russia since the end of the Cold War and the rise of China as a global economic power. An historical approach is adopted, but one informed by the main IR theories such as Realism, Marxism, Constructivism and Liberal Internationalism, which are introduced throughout the course.

This first half of the course consists of an analysis of the foreign policies of each of the six Post-Cold War presidents, from Bush 41 to Biden, especially in relation to the expansion of NATO and deteriorating relations with Russia in the Euro-Atlantic and the Middle East, and growing competition with China in the Indo-Pacific, Africa and Latin America.Ìý ÌýThe presidency of George H Bush is first examined and the concept of a New World Order following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of a ‘Coalition of the Willing’ to take part in the Gulf War against Saddam Hussein is discussed. Bill Clinton’s foreign policy and the notion of ‘democratic enlargement’ that accompanied NATO expansion in the 1990s are then analysed in Week 2. In week 3 we focus on the presidency of George W Bush, 9/11, the Bush Doctrine, the ‘War on Terror’ and its impact on Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. In week 4 we evaluate the foreign policy of Barack Obama, with reference to the notion of ‘American decline’. In Week 5 we examine the foreign policies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, especially the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and we discuss the extent to which the US and its allies are now facing the end of the Post-Cold War Era.

The second half of the module focuses on issues arising in each of the five major geo-political regions in US foreign policy strategy since the end of the Cold War. These include US policy towards Britain and Europe and the notion of an ‘Anglo-American ‘special relationship’; the legacy of the Monroe Doctrine and US relations with Cuba and the rest of the Americas; the US relationship with Israel and the quest for a Middle East peace settlement involving the Palestinians and the Arab states; US relations with China and the concept of an American pivot towards the Asia-Pacific in the 21st century; and finally, US policy towards Africa since the end of the Cold War with particular reference to the reasons for the relative neglect of the region until recently. The impact of successive Presidents upon US policy towards each of these regions is one focus of the analysis and the future direction of US foreign policy is also discussed.