The relationship between the Washington correspondents of major news-gathering media and representatives of the foreign policy sections of the United States government has long been assumed, but its nature has never been analyzed. In a pioneering study of this relationship, Professor Cohen has used the observable results of contact, the printed and spoken words of the correspondents, as well as data from two sets of structured interviews with members of the press and government in Washington in 1953-1954 and again in 1960. Because the treatment is placed in the general context of a theory of the foreign-policy making process, many of its insights should be applicable to government-press relationships in other fields and in other countries. The degree and kind of influence of the press on American foreign policy will come as a surprise to many readers. Originally published in 1963. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
In Democracies and Foreign Policy, however, Bernard Cohen offers the first detailed comparison of two Western democracies--the United States and the Netherlands--and their patterns of public participation in foreign policy. To assess the influence of citizens on the foreign policies of each nation, he examines the institutions that both shape and express public opinion--national legislative bodies, media of communication, organized interest groups--and searches for the roots of these institutions in the national political systems. Cohen's thought-provoking results demand a reassessment of aspects of foreign-policy making that have been taken for granted in each of these countries. Cohen finds, for example, that within the United States the media have significant power in setting agendas, while the political parties remain relatively mute on foreign-policy issues. In the Netherlands, on the other hand, the media have a lesser role, with the government instead sampling the opinion of the more outspoken political parties and party members. The Dutch Foreign Ministry, remaining walled off from the public, has a much freer hand in foreign policy. Cohen also finds that the U.S. State Department is much more sensitive to public opinion than its Dutch counterpart but, surprisingly, is less successful in understanding and coping with demands from its public.
This famous book, first published in 1929 was considerably revised and enlarged in its fourth edition, which is being reprinted now. This edition had the addition of a postscript by Professor I. Bernard Cohen containing a list of reading, with comments on them to guide the readers.
Dr. Cohen examines the major elements with foreign policy-making roles—public opinion, interest groups, the media of communication, the Executive branch, and the Congress—to determine the nature of their interests in the Japanese peace settlement and their actions respecting it. Then he analyzes the interrelationships among these factors, and the patterns of influence they revealed. Originally published in 1957. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
In Democracies and Foreign Policy, however, Bernard Cohen offers the first detailed comparison of two Western democracies--the United States and the Netherlands--and their patterns of public participation in foreign policy. To assess the influence of citizens on the foreign policies of each nation, he examines the institutions that both shape and express public opinion--national legislative bodies, media of communication, organized interest groups--and searches for the roots of these institutions in the national political systems. Cohen's thought-provoking results demand a reassessment of aspects of foreign-policy making that have been taken for granted in each of these countries. Cohen finds, for example, that within the United States the media have significant power in setting agendas, while the political parties remain relatively mute on foreign-policy issues. In the Netherlands, on the other hand, the media have a lesser role, with the government instead sampling the opinion of the more outspoken political parties and party members. The Dutch Foreign Ministry, remaining walled off from the public, has a much freer hand in foreign policy. Cohen also finds that the U.S. State Department is much more sensitive to public opinion than its Dutch counterpart but, surprisingly, is less successful in understanding and coping with demands from its public.
The relationship between the Washington correspondents of major news-gathering media and representatives of the foreign policy sections of the United States government has long been assumed, but its nature has never been analyzed. In a pioneering study of this relationship, Professor Cohen has used the observable results of contact, the printed and spoken words of the correspondents, as well as data from two sets of structured interviews with members of the press and government in Washington in 1953-1954 and again in 1960. Because the treatment is placed in the general context of a theory of the foreign-policy making process, many of its insights should be applicable to government-press relationships in other fields and in other countries. The degree and kind of influence of the press on American foreign policy will come as a surprise to many readers. Originally published in 1963. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Dr. Cohen examines the major elements with foreign policy-making roles—public opinion, interest groups, the media of communication, the Executive branch, and the Congress—to determine the nature of their interests in the Japanese peace settlement and their actions respecting it. Then he analyzes the interrelationships among these factors, and the patterns of influence they revealed. Originally published in 1957. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
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