While domestic issues loom large in voters' minds during American presidential elections, matters of foreign policy have consistently shaped candidates and their campaigns. From the start of World War II through the collapse of the Soviet Union, presidential hopefuls needed to be perceived as credible global leaders in order to win elections - regardless of the situation at home - and voter behavior depended heavily on whether the nation was at war or peace. Yet, there is little written about the importance of foreign policy in US presidential elections or the impact of electoral issues on the formation of foreign policy.

In US Presidential Elections and Foreign Policy, a team of international scholars examines how the relationship between foreign policy and electoral politics evolved through the latter half of the 20th century. Covering all presidential elections from 1940 to 1992 - from debates over American entry into World War II to the aftermath of the Cold War - the contributors correct the conventional wisdom that domestic issues and the economy are always definitive. Together they demonstrate that, while international concerns were more important in some campaigns than others, foreign policy always matters and is often decisive. This illuminating commentary fills a significant gap in the literature on presidential and electoral politics, emphasizing that candidates' positions on global issues have a palpable impact on American foreign policy.

Published by The University Press of Kentucky.

"This book is part of an important trend in examining the connection between domestic policies and foreign policy. Its chapters will have enduring relevance." - Elizabeth N. Saunders, author of Leaders at War: How Presidents Shape Military Interventions

Full list of authors: Steven Casey, Michael F. Hopkins, John Dumbrell, Robert A. Strong, Thomas Alan Schwartz, Robert David Johnson, Sylvia Ellis, David Ryan, Scott Lucas, J. Simon Rofe, Sandra Scanlon, Andrew Johnstone, Thomas Tunstall Allcock, Robert Mason, and Andrew Priest.