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Foreign policy analysis (FPA) has long studied leaders and individual decision makers. In contrast, international relations (IR) long favored the system level of analysis, treating the state as an abstract unitary actor. However, IR has begun to rediscover the individual level of analysis, making this an opportune time to consider the contributions of both FPA and IR to the study of leaders and decision makers. This article reviews how FPA and IR study individual decision makers, highlighting prominent approaches in each field, comparing these approaches –highlighting similarities, differences, and connections –and discusses appropriate applications of each in empirical research. The contribution ends with suggestions for integrating the FPA and IR approaches to the study of leaders and individual decision makers, highlighting how this integration benefits the ability of both FPA and IR to address interesting research questions regarding the role of leaders and individual decision makers in international politics.

"As the dominant state in the post-Cold War era, strategists assumed the United States would practice a restrained foreign marked by sparing use of force, multilateral diplomacy, and a reduction of military commitments abroad. However, the United States chose precisely the opposite course--one marked by assertiveness, foreign intervention, and unilateral action. US Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era argues that the reason for this lack of restraint originates from the United States' need to maintain prestige as an effective international leader in the face of recalcitrant and free-riding actors. Onea concludes that recommendations of restraint are not wrong, but rather unfeasible due to the constant need for securing US prestige in the eyes of the world"--

Shocking acts of terrorism have erupted from violent American far-right extremists in recent years, including the 2015 mass murder at a historic Black church in Charleston and the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. These incidents, however, are neither novel nor unprecedented. They are the latest flashpoints in a process that has been unfolding for decades, in which vast conspiracy theories and radical ideologies such as white supremacism, racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, and hostility to government converge into a deadly threat to democracy.God, Guns, and Sedition offers the definitive account of the rise of far-right terrorism in the United States-and how to counter it. Leading experts Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware trace the historical trajectory and assess the present-day dangers of this violent extremist movement, along with the harm it poses to U.S. national security. They combine authoritative, nuanced analysis with gripping storytelling and portraits of the leaders behind this violence and their followers. Hoffman and Ware highlight key terrorist tactics, such as the use of cutting-edge communications technology; the embrace of leaderless resistance or lone-wolf strategies; infiltration and recruitment in the military and law enforcement; and the movement's intricate relationship with mainstream politics. An unparalleled examination of one of today's great perils, God, Guns, and Sedition ends with an array of essential practical recommendations to halt the growth of violent far-right extremism and address this global terrorist threat

Japan has one of Asia's most technologically advanced militaries and yet struggles to use its hard power as an instrument of national policy. The horrors of World War II continue to haunt policymakers in Tokyo, while China and South Korea remain wary of any military ambitions Japan may entertain. Yet a fundamental shift in East Asian geopolitics has forced Japan to rethink the commitment to pacifism it made during the U.S. occupation. It has increasingly flexed its muscles—deploying troops under UN auspices, participating in coercive sanctions, augmenting surveillance capabilities, and raising defense budgets. Article Nine of Japan's constitution, drafted by U.S. authorities in 1946, claims that the Japanese people "forever renounce the use of force as a means of settling international disputes." When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe broke this taboo by advocating revision of Article Nine, public outcry was surprisingly muted. The military, once feared as a security liability, now appears to be an indispensable asset, called upon with increasing frequency and given a seat at the policymaking table. In Japan Rearmed Sheila Smith argues that Japan is not only responding to increasing threats from North Korean missiles and Chinese maritime activities but also reevaluating its dependence on the United States. No longer convinced that they can rely on Americans to defend Japan, Tokyo's political leaders are now confronting the possibility that they may need to prepare the nation's military for war.

In The Third Revolution, eminent China scholar Elizabeth Economy provides an incisive look at the world's most populous country. Inheriting a China burdened with slowing economic growth, rampant corruption, choking pollution, and a failing social welfare system, President Xi has reversed course, rejecting the liberalizing reforms of his predecessors. At home, the Chinese leadership has reasserted the role of the state into society and enhanced Party and state control. Beyond its borders, Beijing has recast itself as a great power and has maneuvered itself to be an arbiter--not just a player--on the world stage. Through an exploration of Xi Jinping's efforts to address top policy priorities--fighting corruption, controlling the internet, reforming state-owned enterprises, improving the country's innovation capacity, reducing the country's air pollution, and elevating its presence on the global stage--Economy identifies the tensions, shortcomings, and successes of Xi's first five years in office. Xi's ambition, she argues, provides new opportunities for the United States and the rest of the world to encourage greater Chinese contribution to global public goods but also necessitates a more proactive and coordinated effort to counter the rapidly expanding influence of an illiberal power within a liberal world order. This is essential reading for anyone interested in both China under Xi and how America and the world should deal with this vast nation in the coming years.

The argument -- The historical trajectory -- Two inaugurations and a funeral -- Benchmark: where is South Africa after "non-racial democracy?" -- Poverty, education, and health -- Land -- Governance -- The bilateral relationship between the United States and South Africa

In Market Madness, Dr. Blake Clayton, a Wall Street stock analyst and former Oxford researcher, draws on a century's worth of statistical data to offer a revolutionary new look the history of oil and future of energy. The culmination of a multi-year study, he shows how generational fears about an imminent, irreversible shortage of oil punctuate the history of oil since its earliest days. He explores the conditions in which oil supply fears arise, gain popularity, and eventually wane, and shows how important such stories can be in affecting financial markets. He links these episodes to the behavioral concept of irrational exuberance and new era economic thinking, first popularized by Nobel Laureate Yale economist Robert Shiller, to show how unfounded pessimism affects the market for oil and other exhaustible resources. Acknowledging the significant geological and structural changes the oil market has undergone over the last century, the book does not dismiss today's shortage fears out of hand, but asks what they reveal about how commodity markets function and what that means for investors and public officials. Clayton argues that the lessons to be learned from this history are the need for quality data about US and global oil reserves, the importance of clear communication from public officials about energy markets and resources, and the value of transparency in commodities markets. While these measures will not eliminate volatility and unpredictability in energy markets, he writes, they would mitigate unnecessary price spikes and improve investor and government decision-making. The book addresses popular debates in economics and finance on how mass beliefs affect financial markets while also offering a colorful narrative history for general readers about the dramatic booms and busts of the American oil industry.

No country feels China's rise more deeply than Japan. Through intricate case studies of visits by politicians to the Yasukuni Shrine, conflicts at the East China Sea boundary, concerns about food safety, and strategies of island defense, Sheila A. Smith explores the policy issues testing the Japanese government as it tries to navigate its relationship with an advancing China. She finds that Japan's interactions with China extend far beyond the negotiations between diplomats to include a broad array of social actors intent on influencing the Sino-Japanese relationship. Some of the tensions com