American Government is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the single-semester American government course. This title includes innovative features designed to enhance student learning, including Insider Perspective features and a Get Connected Module that shows students how they can get engaged in the political process. The book provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of American government and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them. American Government includes updated information on the 2016 presidential election.Senior Contributing AuthorsGlen Krutz (Content Lead), University of OklahomaSylvie Waskiewicz, PhD (Lead Editor)

The United States experienced extensive economic and geographical expansion during the 1840s, as the spirit of Manifest Destiny drove Americans west across the North American continent to exert their influence over new places and peoples. Influenced by this expansionary philosophy, political leaders sought to expand American trade relationships worldwide. One of the first targets of this campaign was to open diplomatic and trade relations with isolationist Japan, which had been closed to western traders for centuries. In 1852, President Millard Fillmore ordered Commodore Matthew C. Perry to lead an expedition to secure Japanese trade and access to Japan’s ports for American ships.

The Middle East’s geographical and strategic uniqueness has made every great power in history to seek to advance its interests in the region. Yet, the region constitutes the greatest single reserve of oil in the world, which has made it a regular source of foreign interference in the post-World War II era. In addition to its geographical and strategic uniqueness, the Middle East is the birthplace and spiritual center of the world’s three most important monotheistic religions. Due to its geopolitical importance, any inter- and intra-state conflict in the Middle East has the potential not only for destabilizing the region as a whole or upsetting the regional balance of power but also affecting global stability. After employing the Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) in order to define and delimit the region of the Middle East, the chapters of this book address the question of regional order, examine how regionalism and globalism feature in Middle Eastern integration processes, explore regional bids for hegemony, and investigate the approaches and policies of major international actors.

Host Harry Kreisler welcomes UC professors Herbert York and Susan Shirk for a discussion of the role of research universities in meeting today’s national security challenges. York, the first director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and founding director of the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) and Shirk, Asian security policy expert and current IGCC Director, compare the Cold War and the Post 911 world. Highlighting the importance of regional contexts and the need for well informed diplomacy, they evaluate the U.S. response in managing these threats and offer recommendations for the future. (55 minutes)

UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler welcomes John Shattuck, Chief Executive Officer, Kennedy Library Foundation, for a discussion of his career and work in the area of civil liberties and human rights. (54 min)

Former United Nations secretary General Sir Brian Urquhart in conversation with UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler looks back on his distinguished career as a soldier, diplomat, and international statesman. (57 min)

Module on diplomacy in international relations. Intended for community college students and aligned with the requirements for POLS 140: Introduction to International Relations within the California Community College system. Includes lesson plan, required readings, and ancillary materials (lecture slides and worksheets).

A survey of how America has become the world’s largest consumer of energy. Explores American history from the perspective of energy and its relationship to politics, diplomacy, the economy, science and technology, labor, culture, and the environment. Topics include muscle and water power in early America, coal and the Industrial Revolution, electrification, energy consumption in the home, oil and U.S. foreign policy, automobiles and suburbanization, nuclear power, OPEC and the 70’s energy crisis, global warming, and possible paths for the future.

Frontline Diplomacy: The Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training presents a window into the lives of American diplomats. Transcripts of interviews with U.S. diplomatic personnel capture their experiences, motivations, critiques, personal analyses, and private thoughts.

How can we learn diplomacy through history?

In June 2021, the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD) launched the Historical Diplomacy Simulation Program. This program provides educators with the opportunity to bring diplomacy and the work of U.S. diplomats into the classroom. Historical diplomacy simulations also offer teachers a way to internationalize their curriculum.

In most classrooms, discussions about the work of U.S. diplomats and how the U.S. government engages in global issues are absent from the curriculum. To fill this gap, NMAD has developed educational programming to help students better understand diplomacy. These resources show students that many of the opportunities and challenges before the United States are global in source, scope, and solution.

Our signature educational resources are our diplomacy simulations. NMAD’s diplomacy simulations teach students about the work of the U.S. Department of State and the skills and practice of diplomacy as both a concept and a practical set of 21st-century skills. Stepping into the role of diplomats and working in teams, students build rapport with others, present clear arguments, negotiate, find common ground, and compromise to find a potential solution to a real-life historical crisis.

This survey course can be used by students who are looking to take just one general overview course or by those who want to go on to more advanced study in any of the subfields that comprise the political science discipline, such as American politics, comparative politics, international politics, or political theory. The goal of this course is to introduce the student to the discipline's concepts, terminology, and methods and to explore instances of applied political science through real world examples. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Describe and evaluate the concepts of power, legitimacy, and authority; Discuss the origins and developments of the nation-state; Distinguish between traditional and behavioral approaches to the study of politics; Discuss general approaches to the study of politics, such as political philosophy, political systems theory, and political economy; Describe and discuss the political socialization process; Examine the nature of political participation from a comparative perspective; Discuss the nature of public opinion from a comparative perspective; Identify the different types of electoral systems and be able to assess the implications of those systems; Identify the role and functions of political parties; Identify the different types of party systems from a comparative perspective; Describe and evaluate the general principles of presidential and parliamentary political systems; Describe and compare the essential features of at least three governments of Western Europe; Identify and evaluate the principles of authoritarian and totalitarian governments; Discuss the concepts of political development and problems facing developing nations; Discuss and explain the origins and principles of democratic capitalism, democratic socialism, Marxist socialism, national socialism, fascism, and third world ideologies; Describe the origins, development, and principles of international law; Identify and assess the influence of major international organizations; Describe and analyze the causes of international conflict; Analyze current critical issues in international relationships. (Political Science 101)

To have students gain a better understanding that representing the United States abroad is an extraordinarily dangerous job. This lesson provides students with a hands-on history lab where participants step into the roles of President Carter and his advisors, work with formerly classified primary source documents, and collaborate to tackle one of history’s greatest challenges. Reveal to students how, in the wake of a successful 1979 revolution by Islamic fundamentalists against the pro-American Shah of Iran, the United States became an object of virulent criticism and the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was a visible target.

Diplomacy is an evolving practice in terms of historical circumstance and changing national interests. History and interests do not always coincide. This book explores in brief, pungent case examples, the challenges diplomacy faces today as actors seek to change history and undermine interests. Stephen Chan OBE was Foundation Dean of Law and Social Sciences at SOAS University of London, where he remains as Professor of World Politics. He has occupied many named chairs around the world, most recently the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Chair of Academic Excellence at Bir Zeit University in 2015, and the George Soros Chair of Public Policy at the Central European University in 2016.

Model Diplomacy is the Council on Foreign Relations’ (CFR) free multimedia simulation program. It engages students through role-play and case studies to understand the issues, institutions, and challenges of creating and implementing U.S. foreign policy. It is an adaptable interactive resource that promotes independent research, critical thinking, effective communication, and collaborative approaches to problem solving. Model Diplomacy places students in the position of policymakers deliberating hypothetical scenarios based on real issues. Content is informed by CFR experts.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the rise of conservatism in the US in the 1980s. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

Poster showing the Kaiser and the King of Romania arguing while examining a map. Caption: The two forces. Kaiser: "So you, too, are against me! Remember, Hindenburg fights on my side." King of Roumania [sic]: "Yes, but freedom and justice fight on mine." Reproduced by special permission of the proprietors of "Punch." Title from item.

U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). U.S. History covers key forces that form the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender.