Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume
XXXVIII, Part 1, Foundations of Foreign Policy, 1973–1976
Press Release
Office of the Historian Bureau of Public
Affairs United States Department of State August 29, 2012
The Department of State released today Foreign Relations of the
United States, Volume XXXVIII, Part 1, Foundations of Foreign Policy,
1973–1976
This volume documents the intellectual foundations of the foreign policy of the
second Richard Nixon administration and the Gerald Ford administration. Unlike
other volumes in the Nixon/Ford subseries, the documentation seeks to illustrate
the collective mindset of Nixon and Ford administration officials on foreign
policy issues in the broadest sense. Rather than the formulation of individual
foreign policy decisions or diplomatic exchanges, the compilation takes as its
canvas the entire record of the second Nixon administration and the Ford
administration’s efforts to develop a grand strategy in foreign policymaking.
Specifically, the volume charts the ways in which internal and external
pressures, during a period of profound political drama at home and abroad,
affected this process. It elucidates the primary intellectual themes that ran
through and influenced both Nixon and Ford’s foreign policy: a continued belief
in interdependence and cooperation in relation to energy and economic issues, an
emphasis upon East-West détente, and the primacy of the executive branch in the
formulation and conduct of foreign policy. In addition, the volume looks at the
ways in which the Nixon and Ford administrations developed strategies to contend
with a changing geopolitical landscape in the aftermath of U.S. withdrawal from
Southeast Asia, a new intensification of the Cold War in Africa, conflict in the
Middle East, and the proliferation of transnational issues. Lastly, the volume
explores the influence of domestic politics on the making of foreign policy,
most notably during the late stages of the Watergate scandal, the resignation of
President Nixon, and the ideological challenges posed by Ronald Reagan and Jimmy
Carter during the 1976 Presidential campaign. The documentation presented in the
volume, drawn from public and archival sources, chronicles the perspectives of
not only Nixon and Ford but also Secretaries of State William Rogers and Henry
Kissinger, Secretaries of Defense Melvin Laird and James Schlesinger, and other
prominent policy makers.
This volume was compiled and edited by Kristin L. Ahlberg and Alexander R. Wieland. The volume and this
press release are available on the Office of the Historian website here. Copies of the volume will be available for purchase from the U.S.
Government Printing Office online at http://bookstore.gpo.gov (GPO S/N 044–000–02649–0; ISBN
978–0–16–089530–2), or by calling toll-free 1–866–512–1800 (D.C. area
202–512–1800). For further information, contact history@state.gov.