U.S. Global Leadership Role and Domestic Polarization: A Role Theory Approach

Gordon Friedrichs' book explores the implications of domestic polarization for U.S. foreign policymaking and international leadership, using role theory to analyze three polarization effects: sorting, partisan warfare, and institutional corrosion. Case studies include the Iran nuclear crisis and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 29 April 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

In his groundbreaking book, Gordon Friedrichs delves into the profound implications of domestic polarization for U.S. foreign policymaking and the exercise of America's international leadership role. With a mixed-method design and a comprehensive dataset encompassing polarization data, congressional debates, letters, and co-sponsorship coalitions, Friedrichs employs role theory to examine three critical polarization effects on the U.S. leadership role: a sorting effect, partisan warfare, and an institutional corrosion effect. These effects are explored through two comparative case studies: the Iran nuclear crisis and the negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Friedrichs adeptly uncovers the drivers of polarization, shedding light on how this extreme divergence has translated into partisan warfare and institutional corrosion, thereby impacting the direction and performance of the U.S. global leadership role.

By pushing the boundaries of role theory and introducing the concept of diagonal contestation as a mechanism that enables us to locate polarization within a two-level role game between agent and structure, U.S. Global Leadership Role and Domestic Polarization emerges as a valuable resource for scholars of international relations, foreign policy analysis, American government, and polarization. This book offers a pioneering perspective on the complex dynamics shaping U.S. foreign policy and international leadership, providing valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities facing the United States in an increasingly polarized world.

Weight: 364g
Dimension: 151 x 227 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367544843