Nixon, Kissinger, and U.S. Foreign Policy Making: The Machinery of Crisis

Nixon, Kissinger, and U.S. Foreign Policy Making examines for the first time the important role of crisis management in the making of U.S. foreign policy during the Nixon-Kissinger years. The book offers a critical account of the manner in which the president and his national security advisor notorious for their tight grip on the machinery of U.S. foreign policy dominated the structures and processes of foreign policy making. By drawing on a wealth of previously classified documents, Asaf Siniver reveals the story of the Washington Special Actions Group (WSAG), which managed foreign policy crises in the Nixon administration. In this thoroughly researched account of the performance of Nixon, Kissinger and the WSAG in four international crises, Siniver provides a fresh analysis of the important relationship among structures, processes and personalities in the making of U.S. foreign policy during international crises.

Dr. Asaf Siniver is Lecturer of International Relations in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham, UK. His work has appeared in Review of International Studies, Political Studies, and other journals.