Current Challenges and Future Directions in US Foreign Policy

The United States (US) 2024 election marks a critical point for re-assessment concerning the current state and future of US foreign policy. The highly polarized election has highlighted the intense pressures the US is facing as a global actor: such as, greater multipolarity, domestic instability and disunity, international threats to hegemony, and the rise of China. Taking the election as a starting point, this section seeks to analyse and explore the key challenges that the US is currently facing and what issues will shape the development of that policy in terms of future directions? In particular, the section explores the conceptualisation of, and analytic approaches towards, understanding US foreign policy. If we are to successfully understand how US foreign policy and its development, what analytic tools, frameworks, and methodological models are needed; moreover, is that type of analysis even possible in the current flux of the global climate? What are the best analytic means for the discipline going forward? Are we making mistakes or working with academic models that are simply outdated for the current international system? Have we overlooked approaches that are now relevant given the changes to both that system and the US’ position within it? This section seeks papers that not only aim to understand the current challenges and future directions of US foreign policy (for example, through case studies and studies of specific doctrinal approaches), but which also consider and explore the analytic tools available to do so. The section is designed then to develop and promote a set of useful analytic frameworks that will best serve the discipline to understand both current issues and what comes next for the US. The section is very open to innovative discussions of existing theoretical and methodological approaches, as well as new and overlooked frameworks that can shed light on these critical questions. Panels: US Foreign Policy: Theory and Methods 1 This panel explores, assesses, and critiques different theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of US foreign policy – specifically within the context of both current and/or future foreign policy construction as well as decision-making. Given recent shifts in international politics which impact on US foreign policy – such as greater multipolarity, threats to hegemony, and the rise of China – what tools and analytic resources should academics use to conceptualise these changes in respect of what the US does internationally? The panel calls for papers which: critique existing theoretical frameworks and methods in the light of wider developments in international politics; analyse the challenges at play which may determine and change how academics approach the issue of US foreign policy; employ alternative or overlooked approaches which respond to international and foreign policy challenges; introduce new means of theoretical and methodological analysis; and/or identify interdisciplinary opportunities for further study. US Foreign Policy: Theory and Methods 2 The call for papers is the same as US Foreign Policy: Theory and Methods 1 US Foreign Policy Outside the West This panel seeks papers that address the current and future development of US foreign policy – specifically relating to geopolitical areas, cases, and themes outside the West; for example, Africa and Latin America. What are the key challenges in this area and what are the main considerations going forward in shaping US foreign policy? How, and do, shifts in analytic thinking away from Western-centric models influence both policymaking itself as well as scholarly understanding of this? Papers submitted to this panel could potentially look at: specific case studies in respect of US policy and geopolitical relationships; the consequences of certain forms of US foreign policymaking in this area; and/or the theories and methods necessary to understand US foreign policy within this context. US Foreign Policy and Gender This panel considers the position of US foreign policy in respect to gender, with a particular emphasis on the development of Feminist Foreign Policy – both as a theoretical and policy-making framework. Drawing on theoretical and methodological advances around the construction of Feminist Foreign Policy, this panel welcomes papers that seek to engage with these approaches specifically in respect of US action – either generally or in relation to specific issues of foreign policy. How far can US foreign policy be considered feminist as it stands and what are the key challenges in developing a Feminist Foreign Policy position? What recommendations can be made to shape a US Feminist US Foreign Policy going forward? What analytic models of foreign policy development may be useful in both conceptualising and achieving this? And what are the key barriers that would stand in the way of doing so? US Foreign Policy and Transatlantic Relations This panel calls for papers which consider US foreign policy in relation to transatlantic relations, with a specific emphasis on Europe as a key site of political instability. Europe has long been Washington's partner in the extension of the post-1945 international political and economic order – which could be described as a transatlantic order. If the US is no longer able or willing to uphold that order, then the nature of the transatlantic relationship may be radically redefined, and Europe's leaders will need to urgently rethink their global strategies. Papers could potentially look at: specific case studies in respect of the US-European relationship; the development of EU autonomy and the relationship with NATO; Russia and the threat to European security and stability; and/or the theories and methods necessary to understand the transatlantic relationship. US Foreign Policy and the 2024 Election This panel analyses the US 2024 Election and the implications for US foreign policy going forward. The heavily polarised election has highlighted and exaggerated concerns about US foreign policy – not least in relationship to leadership style and the domestic/global position of the new President. What does the election tell us about the current and future health of US foreign policy? Has the election itself shaped that policy, if at all? Will the outcome influence foreign policy and how prepared is the new leader to manage this?