Fear and the Making of Foreign Policy

About this book

Raymond Taras explains the causal mechanisms propelling three EU states to become engaged in outside conflicts and tells the story of when and why xenophobia at home is converted into xenophobia abroad. Key features: a scholarly investigation into the role that human phobias play in international politics; examines states in Europe and beyond that have been marked by contrasting historical pathways whose policy responses to "strangers" at home and to "friends" or "foes" abroad are dramatically dissimilar; addresses the phenomena of social fears, moral panic, and declinism of the Wet through the prism of xenophobic attitudes and their often underestimated consequences; and includes chapter-length case studies of France, Poland, and Sweden, as well as offering counterpoints furnished by the US, China, Iran, and Turkey. -- Back cover.