Choosing to Lead

“Choosing to Lead offers an important challenge to those who dismiss the legislature’s continued importance in shaping the course and conduct of American foreign policy. It will be of interest to scholars of Congress, the presidency, and foreign policy alike.” - Douglas L. Kriner, Perspectives on Politics

“[A] refreshingly balanced look at the role of Congress in foreign policy making. . . . Choosing to Lead is a critical read for any scholar who wishes to understand the trends of collective congressional foreign policy making, as well as the nuances of foreign policy leadership, activity, and policy making of individual members of Congress.” - Melody Huckaby, APSA Legislative Studies Section Newsletter

“One of the great contributions of this study is that it richly shows what Presidents know and what foreign policy scholars . . . tend to miss: Congress and its members are actively involved in this policy area and require a great deal of time and attention from the administration as a result. . . . Hopefully [Carter and Scott’s] important work will pave the way toward greater cooperation between congressional scholars (who might now be more inclined to study foreign policy) and students of foreign policy (who often ignore Congress) and lead us to a far richer understanding of the U.S. foreign policy process.” - Patrick J. Haney, Congress and the Presidency

“One of the greatest strengths of their work is the examination of congressional activity during the entire postwar era, which they divide into the Cold War consensus, Cold War dissensus, and post-Cold War eras. . . . Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, and research collections, members of Congress.” - A. D. McNitt, Choice

“This study is a valuable contribution to the literature on American foreign policy making. This is partly because of its theoretical arguments: its thesis implies that political scientists should reconsider some of their accepted truths about US foreign policy making.” - Zim Nwokora, Australian Journal of Political Science

“I now see the foreign policy-making process in a different light than I did before reading Choosing to Lead. Ralph G. Carter and James M. Scott show that Congress can and regularly does play an important role in foreign policy making. In the future, foreign-policy analysts will have to consider that role rather than assume that only the Oval Office matters.” - A. Cooper Drury, author of Economic Sanctions and Presidential Decisions: Models of Political Rationality

“Two scholars reveal here the fascinating stories of enterprising American lawmakers who’ve exerted extraordinary personal influence in the making of American foreign policy. Sometimes unnoted in contemporary writings and occasionally unappreciated, some were surprisingly successful and some stunningly selfless. Choosing to Lead is historically significant and interestingly written.” - Jim Wright, Former Speaker, U. S. House of Representatives