Presidential Foreign Policy Networks

A Social Network Analysis of American Foreign Policy

Abstract

This paper applies practice theory to assess the evolution of American foreign policy. It does so by examining the daily schedules of President Truman. Data has been collected from the Truman Presidential Library’s daily appointments calendar. The author has reviewed the daily presidential appointments of President Truman from April 12^th, 1945, the day in which President Truman assumed the role of President, to January 20th, 1953, President Truman’s final day in office. The assumption derived from practice theory is that the President will be more willing to talk to dignitaries from states they have strong relationships with, and thus the quantity of interactions will be indicative of an administration’s relationships with other states.  This paper uses social network analysis to assess whether the theoretical assumptions of practice theory can effectively capture the expansion of American diplomatic relations in the post-war period described by G John Ikenberry in Liberal Leviathan and Liberal Order and Imperial Ambition.  

Discipline: Political Science Honours

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jean-Christophe Boucher