Questions -- US foreign policy

[justanotherperson]

Hi all,

I've been doing a bit of research on poli sci phD programs, and US foreign policy is one of my would-be research interests if I manage to get into grad school.

Anyhow, one thing that confuses me is that US foreign policy seems to belong to different subfields at different schools. I thought it'd be something dealt within IR, but I notice that there are some comparative works on foreign policy and also there are schools (Boston College is one example) that list US foreign policy as a research topic for AP. So basically my (ignorant) question is -- when I want my research done on US foreign policy, which subfields should I be aiming for? IR, CP or AP?

Among many possible research topics in US foreign policy, currently I'm interested in: 1) Post Cold War US intervention in global conflicts; 2) US military alliances -- have they become a liability or do they still matter, etc.

Oh, here's another, possibly dumber question: Is it inevitable that one has a regional focus in approaching research subjects in IR/CP? My regional focus could be on East Asia (so in the case of US foreign policy, something like US foreign policy toward East Asian countries), but I just wonder if one can study something related to US foreign policy that is still not bound by regional boundaries. I guess US foreign policymaking in general (which to me sounds like AP) can be said to have no regional focus, am I correct?

And if anybody cares, please recommend some prominent academic works concerning US foreign policy that I can check out! )

Please enlighten/correct me all you want! I'm just really lost. Any help will be much appreciated. THANK YOU!

Edited June 18, 2011 by justanotherperson

[sweater]

American foreign policy would only be AP if you were studying it in the context of American domestic politics (i.e. how the electorate/legislature/president/etc. affect the formation of foreign policy). The questions you originally propose are IR questions (how American foreign policy affects/is affected by international politics and international actors.

HOWEVER, if you are ACTUALLY interested in American foreign policy vis-a-vis Asia, then that is CP. And yes, if you are going to apply to PhD programs as a comparativist then you need to have a regional area of interest (but not necessarily for IR).

Your best bet is to talk to your professors about these issues. The demarcation between these areas of political science were not clear to me until I actually sat down with my adviser and went through them and then did my own research (of course the lines aren't cut and dry and will always blur at the boundaries). I highly encourage you to hold off on grad school until you have a better grasp of the discipline.When you do apply, you should have one or two STRONGLY focused questions that you are interested in... not a whole bunch of half-baked interests.

Edited June 21, 2011 by sweater

[justanotherperson]

Thanks for the advice. Guess I have a long way to go! Thank you!!