In this diploma thesis we focus on the conceptualization of foreign policy, determining the general goals of foreign policy and deconstructing the most relevant foreign policy strategies in relation to other countries in the international community, which are articulated by foreign policy makers. Through the perception of different authors we will theorize American foreign policy on the basis of three theoretical approaches such as realism, idealism and a socio-economic approach; And critically reflect the contrast and compare the individual approaches. We will conceptualize the characteristics of the American political system descriptively and causally, as well as identify the specific foreign policy makers, which have the most power in constructing and implementing foreign policy, while at the same time exposing a retrospective of the political structures and their actors. At the end we will apply this to Vietnam as an example, so that we may selectively analyze the foreign policy of several American presidential administrations within our time frame and show our findings. These can be used to generate follow-up questions, as they open up new subjects in this segment, which require further research.
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