Teaching Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era. ERIC Digest.

This ERIC Digest discusses issues relating to teaching about U.S. foreign policy in the changing international environment following the end of the Cold War era and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The document treats: (1) the need and rationale for teaching and learning about current foreign policy issues; (2) main themes in foreign policy education in the post-Cold War era; (3) balance, inquiry, and decision making in the classroom; and (4) current classroom materials. The U.S. public needs to come to terms with the changing international environment in order to provide a framework or standard to guide policymakers. It is part of the job of education at this juncture in history to help students understand these new issues and be able to take part in the current national dialogue on the future of U.S. foreign policy. In order to participate effectively as citizens in shaping U.S. foreign policy, students must develop an understanding of the range of forces and issues shaping international relations in today's rapidly changing world. The digest describes the following major themes in foreign policy: (1) understanding the international system; (2) responses to international conflict; (3) non-state and transnational actors; (4) understanding U.S. foreign policy in historical perspective; (5) linking foreign and domestic politics; (6) successes in the international system; (7) military technology and proliferation; and (8) north-south relations in the post-Cold War era. Sources for obtaining current classroom material are listed as well as references and ERIC resources. (DK)