"A Creative Tension is a unique look at the foreign policy roles of Congress and the president by one of the most astute congressional practitioners of foreign policy of recent decades, former U.S. representative and chairman of the House International Relations Committee Lee H. Hamilton. With an insider's perspective based on thirty-four years in Congress, Hamilton elucidates current domestic and international pressures influencing U.S. foreign policy, strengths and weaknesses in the foreign policy process, and ways to improve the performance of the president and Congress. A Creative Tension argues that better consultation between the executive and legislative branches is the most effective way to strengthen American foreign policy. This book should be of interest to foreign policy makers, scholars and students of American politics, and the general public."--BOOK JACKET.