Putting US Foreign Policy in a Theoretical Perspective

Abstract

This chapter positions US foreign policy in an offensive realist theoretical perspective. It starts by analyzing the importance of theory and different theories of international relations and foreign policy. While recognizing that no theory can and should explain everything, it proposes offensive realism as a theoretical framework that focusses exclusively on great powers politics and on issues involving national security and geostrategic interests of the US. Offensive realism is suitable to explain US foreign policy because of its aggressive behavior to maintain the status as the only regional hegemon in the international system. The chapter concludes by discussing the comparative case study methodology through which the data will be collected and the theoretical claims will be tested.