PREVIOUS ARTICLE ALL CONTENTS Next ARTICLE

Bipartisanship and US Foreign Policy: Cooperation in a Polarized Age, Jordan Tama

Reviewed by Rachel Myrick
 

Politics in the United States today are characterized by remarkable levels of partisan polarization. Although there is widespread consensus on the problems that polarization poses for domestic affairs, there is much debate about whether partisanship extends “beyond the water's edge” into foreign affairs. Jordan Tama's Bipartisanship and US Foreign Policy provides a more optimistic perspective than often is found in popular media. Tama argues that bipartisan coalition building continues to be a key feature of legislative activity in foreign affairs.

In his meticulously researched book, Tama makes three major contributions to debates about polarization and US foreign policy. The first contribution is to convincingly demonstrate that “strong polarization remains the exception, rather than the norm” (215) on legislation related to foreign affairs. Using an original data set on major Congressional roll call votes, Tama shows that, apart from immigration policy, bipartisanship persists across multiple domains of foreign policy.

The second contribution of the book is a novel conceptualization of bipartisanship. Congressional activity is often characterized as either partisan or bipartisan. Tama, however, explains that bipartisanship comes in many forms. Legislators coalesce to support (pro-presidential bipartisanship

To continue reading, see options above.

About PSQ's Editor

ROBERT Y. SHAPIRO

Full Access

Join the Academy of Political Science and automatically receive Political Science Quarterly.

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Academy Forum | The Transatlantic Relationship and the Russia-Ukraine War
January 9, 2025
4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. ET
WEBINAR

MORE ABOUT THIS EVENT VIEW ALL EVENTS

Editor’s spotlight

Virtual Issue

Introduction: Black Power and the Civil Rights Agendas of Charles V. Hamilton
Marylena Mantas and Robert Y. Shapiro

MORE ABOUT THIS TOPIC

Search the Archives

Publishing since 1886, PSQ is the most widely read and accessible scholarly journal with distinguished contributors such as: Lisa Anderson, Robert A. Dahl, Samuel P. Huntington, Robert Jervis, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Theda Skocpol, Woodrow Wilson

view additional issues

Most read

Articles | Book reviews

Understanding the Bush Doctrine
Robert Jervis

The Study of Administration
Woodrow Wilson

Notes on Roosevelt's "Quarantine" Speech
Dorothy Borg

view all

New APS Book

Political Conflict in American Politics   POLITICAL CONFLICT IN AMERICAN POLITICS

About US

Academy of Political Science

The Academy of Political Science, promotes objective, scholarly analyses of political, social, and economic issues. Through its conferences and publications APS provides analysis and insight into both domestic and foreign policy issues.

Political Science Quarterly

With neither an ideological nor a partisan bias, PSQ looks at facts and analyzes data objectively to help readers understand what is really going on in national and world affairs.

Stay Connected

newsstand locator
About APS