ABSTRACT
It is no surprise that the study of American foreign policy has mirrored the general trend toward constructivist analysis in recent years. This chapter explores the constructivist literature on American foreign policy by placing it in the context of more general trends in foreign policy analysis. While constructivism as applied to the study of foreign policy has analytical implications for many diff erent countries and contexts, the formulation and conduct of American foreign policy has remained a primary focus among constructivist FPA scholars, as we will see in the sections below. Their application of constructivist theory to a variety of case studies, detailed in this chapter, has enriched our understanding of American foreign policy while strengthening the empirical basis of constructivist theory. Through this process, which has now extended more than two decades, constructivist FPA scholars have revealed dimensions of American foreign policy that were previously unknown.
