Professor James McCormick Speaks at RUSI

Public Opinion, Interest Groups, and Foreign Policy:  The 2006
American Congressional Elections   

22 September 2006, 1530-1700

Professor McCormick will examine the relationship between the US electorate, interests group and US foreign policy. He will first look at the role of domestic factors in shaping US foreign policy and the role of foreign policy issues (as opposed to domestic ones) in US elections and particularly congressional ones. Professor McCormick will then go on to explore the current state of US public opinion and whether that is a significant factor in foreign policy -- including a.  The growth of interest groups in shaping elections and b.  The role of specific groups such as ethnic groups, religious groups, single issue groups, etc. The session will conclude with some thoughts on the upcoming mid-term elections in November and their impact on current US Foreign Policy.  

James M. McCormick

Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Iowa State University. He has also held positions at the University of New Mexico, Ohio University, the University of Toledo, and Texas A and M University. He received his BA from Aquinas College, his MA from Michigan State University, and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. He is also a former American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow (1986-1987), who worked in the office of Congressman Lee Hamilton of Indiana, and was co-editor of INTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY (1999-2003). McCormick has authored or edited six books, including the recently published fourth edition of THE DOMESTIC SOURCES OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY: INSIGHTS AND EVIDENCE (with Eugene R. Wittkopf). In addition, he has published fifty book chapters and articles in such journals as "World Politics, American Political Science Review", "American Journal of Political Science", "The Journal of Politics", "International Studies Quarterly", and "Legislative Studies Quarterly". He was a recipient of the Iowa State University Foundation Award for Outstanding Research at Mid-Career in 1990, a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award to New Zealand in 1993, and the Fulbright-SyCip Distinguished Lecturer Award to the Philippines in 2003.