James Scott

co-author of Choosing to Lead: Understanding Congressional Foreign Policy Entrepreneurs

November 4, 2015

James M. Scott, Professor and Head of Political Science at Oklahoma State University, is co-author (with Ralph G. Carter) of Choosing to Lead: Understanding Congressional Foreign Policy Entrepreneurs (Duke University Press, 2009), and the author, co-author or editor of four other books and more than 40 articles, chapters, and other publications. A former president of both the International Studies Association's Midwest region (2000) and its Foreign Policy Analysis Section (2001), he is currently a co-editor of the journal Foreign Policy Analysis.

Shedding new light on how U.S. foreign policy is made, Ralph G. Carter and James M. Scott focus on "congressional foreign policy entrepreneurs," the often unrecognized representatives and senators who take action on foreign policy matters rather than waiting for the executive branch to do so. In Choosing to Lead, Carter and Scott examine the characteristics, activities and impact of foreign policy entrepreneurs since the end of the Second World War. In so doing, they show not only that individuals members of Congress have long influenced the U.S. foreign policy-making process, but also that the number of foreign policy entrepreneurs has grown over time. Carter and Scott combine extensive quantitative analysis, interviews with members of Congress and their staff, and case studies of leading foreign policy entrepreneurs, including Frank Church, William Fulbright, Jesse Helms, Edward Kennedy, Pat McCarran, and Curt Weldon. By illuminating the roles and impact of individual members of Congress, Carter and Scott contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the broader U.S. foreign policy-making process.

URL: https://library.okstate.edu/news/celebratingbooks/2010-honorees/james-scott

Last Updated: 8 December 2015