How is foreign policy in the United States really crafted? This title identifies what the key foreign policy tools are, which are best for which tasks, and what factors constrain or push how they're used, bringing fresh insight into the challenges facing national security decision makers.

Preface -- Introduction: tools and tool users -- The framer's design -- Following the blueprint -- The president's toolkit -- Congress's toolkit -- Shared tools of the budgetary process -- The diplomatic instrument -- The economic instruments -- The military instrument -- The secret intelligence instruments -- The homeland security instruments -- The international institutions instrument -- Elephants in the workshop -- Missing tools.