The impact of American exceptionalism on U.S. foreign policy

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Thesis Type: Postgraduate

Institution Of The Thesis: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Department of International Relations, Turkey

Approval Date: 2018

Student: GÖKHAN ERELİ

Supervisor: ŞERİF ONUR BAHÇECİK

Abstract:

This thesis seeks to explain the impact of American exceptionalism on U.S. foreign policy. American exceptionalism reflects the belief in superiority, chosenness, mission of the United States. Since ideational variables are not considered as having an explanatory power in their analyses, neorealism and neoliberalism have fallen short of explaining American exceptionalism. This thesis, then, emphasizes that along with the power relations and the national interest, the ways in which U.S. foreign policy is conducted are influenced by the ideas held by both high-profile policymakers and the population. This thesis advocates that the promotion of U.S. leadership is the basic consequence of the belief in American exceptionalism and how to perform this task is depended on the tendecy of the United States to maintain its freedom of action and to seek greater maneuverability in foreign affairs.