An 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
"Examining the evolution and deterioration of oversight on the Senate side of the Capitol, this thorough and theoretically grounded work offers systematic insight into the national security watchdog that doesn't always bark. Fowler's call to 'renew foreign policy oversight' will be deeply interesting to scholars, practitioners, and citizens alike."--Christopher J. Deering, George Washington University
"Scholars and observers have long been uneasy about declining congressional influence over foreign affairs. Corroborating these anxieties, this important book documents a marked falloff in congressional oversight since the 1990s. Fowler identifies culprits that extend beyond party polarization--most particularly declines in congressional specialization and media visibility. The upshot: senators' incentives are no longer aligned to serve the public's needs for understanding and accountability in foreign policy."--Frances E. Lee, University of Maryland
"Congress has played an important, but often underrecognized, role in US foreign policymaking. This book shows that the oversight activities of the Senate Armed Services and Senate Foreign Relations Committees are significant, but that they each proceed differently due to their specific roles. No other studies about these committees are as current or examine as wide a time frame."--Ralph Carter, Texas Christian University
"In an illuminating study of congressional hearings on foreign policy, Linda Fowler weaves fascinating case studies with quantitative analyses of original data. Fowler tracks the activities of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees over a considerable stretch of time, revealing new facts about who serves on these committees and what influence they wield. With this volume, the growing literature on the domestic politics of war is broadened and enriched."--William Howell, University of Chicago
"[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."
