Description
Book SynopsisAn essential responsibility of the U.S. Congress is holding the president accountable for the conduct of foreign policy. In this in-depth look at formal oversight hearings by the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, Linda Fowler evaluates how the legislature's most visible and important watchdogs performed from the mid-twentieth
Trade Review"[T]his book is an important contribution to the debate on the role of Congress in making foreign policy and, perhaps, even provides a guide for a way out."--Choice
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix List of Tables xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii PART I Information, Regular Order, and Democratic Accountability in International Affairs Introduction Oversight Hearings and U.S. Foreign Policy 3 Chapter 1 Guarding the Guardians through Oversight 21 Chapter 2 Committee Motivations for Oversight 47 PART II Oversight Hearings and Regular Order in U.S. Foreign Relations Chapter 3 Institutional Change and Senate Committee Hearings 71 Chapter 4 Committee Goals and Oversight Strategies 98 Chapter 5 Police Patrols and Fire Alarms in U.S. Foreign Policy 132 PART III Reclaiming Congressional War Powers Chapter 6 Return to the Rule of Law in International Affairs 171 Chapter 7 Reforming National Security Oversight in the Senate 186 Appendix A Coding Congressional Committee Hearings 203 Appendix B Description of Dependent and Independent Variables 209 Appendix C Methodological Appendix to Chapter 3 212 Appendix D Methodological Appendix to Chapter 4 218 Appendix E Methodological Appendix to Chapter 5 225 References 235 Index 251