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AbstractThe positive psychology movement has recently reconfigured the thinking of psychologists by bringing to the forefront of enquiry a scientific focus on positive emotions, character strengths, and human virtue, the ultimate aim of which is to further our understanding of human nature and optimize our potential for a good life. This paper proposes a modest systems psychology as a neutral complement to positive psychological thinking in an effort to facilitate a systems view on action optimization. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The presidential address delivered at the 2004 meeting of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) uses Charles Maier's (1980) critique of diplomatic history as a starting point to assess the discipline's potential in the global age. The concurrent decline of diplomatic history & territoriality demanded a refashioning of diplomatic history that included new theoretical approaches & topics. Although traditional approaches still dominate, the field is increasingly characterized by intellectual pluralism & a trend toward internationalizing the study of American history/culture that might center the field squarely within (post)modern historical studies. Movement toward internationalization within the Organization of American Historians & the American Studies Assoc is traced & the continuing importance of both traditional diplomatic history & the search for internal sources of American foreign relations is emphasized. It is concluded that collaboration between the two avenues of research has the potential to place diplomatic history on the edge of a great renaissance. The advantages & disadvantages of such a course are discussed. J. Lindroth