chapter 18

Foreign Policy : 

1 Foreign Policy Chapter 18

The Importance of Foreign Policy : 

2 The Importance of Foreign Policy Despite America’s importance to world politics, Americans tend to focus on domestic politics and remain ignorant and neglectful of global concerns.

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3 Bill Clinton’s 1992 candidacy was aided by the demise of the Cold War as a political issue and voters’ focus on the domestic economy rather than foreign policy. But after September 11, 2001, many Americans became concerned with foreign policy. In June 2002, the “Bush Doctrine” of preemptive war was announced. Bush Doctrine foreign policy based on the idea that the United States should take preemptive action against threats to its national security [preemptive attack].

Slide 4: 

4 FIGURE 18.1 * U.S. Military Expenditure since 2001. To counter the new security threats, the United States has Shifted from a policy of deterrence to one of preemption. Accompanying this shift in military doctrines has been An enormous increase in overall U.S. spending (see Figure 18.1). It remains to be seen whether America’s Doctrine of preemptive will be successfully counter threats or merely convince the world that America is, itself Hostile and aggressive power.

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5 By the same token, the protracted war in Iraq has increased the salience of foreign policy concerns in American politics. In the 2004 elections, many Americans voted on the basis of which candidate was best able to protect them. Although other issues were important, the 2006 congressional elections hinged in important ways on the public’s dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq.

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6 Who are the players in American foreign policy? What are America’s traditional values in foreign policy and how have those values changed? What factors determine American foreign policies? Why should such global questions and problems concern American voters?

The Players: The Makers and Shapers of Foreign Policy : 

7 The Players: The Makers and Shapers of Foreign Policy There are three principle governmental actors or institutions that make foreign policy: the president the Congress the bureaucracy

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8 As commander in chief, the president of the United States has an unusual amount of influence in foreign policy making, even compared to his influence in the domestic realm.

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9 Through its power to declare war, its role in making policy and funding programs, and the Senate’s role in ratifying treaties, Congress too makes foreign policy particularly: Senate’s Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees House International Affairs and Armed Services Committees But not all the wars have been declared though. Korean War, for example, was never been officially declared. Since WWII, Congress has become a major foreign policy maker. It is regularly called upon to approve financing of foreign policy. [Treaty v. Executive agreement (?)]

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10 Several executive departments and agencies advise the president and Congress on formulating foreign policy and implementing these policies: Department of State Department of Defense Joint Chiefs of Staff Central Intelligence Agency National Security Council Department of Homeland Security The main task of the NSC is to act as a public promoter of the president’s foreign policy.

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11 Interest groups, ranging from businesses and defense contractors to ethnic interest groups and organized labor, seek to shape American defense, diplomatic, and trade policies. Ex. (1) Jewish American groups have the reputation for the greatest influence on American foreign policy. (2) NAFTA also as a “single-issue” focuses on trade between the three countries to lower and eliminate tariffs.

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12 The media also play important roles in informing the public and seeking to shape public perceptions of the world. Maker of the American foreign policy are those within the government, while shapers are influential groups outside of official government. The most critical resource the media has to influence foreign policy is the speed and scale with which the media can spread political communications.

The Values in American Foreign Policy : 

13 The Values in American Foreign Policy In his 1796 Farewell Address, President George Washington parted American politics with a series of warnings of impending challenges. Domestically, Washington warned of the danger of factions and internal division. In foreign policy, Washington encouraged the United States to remain independent in pursuit of its interests in the world.

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14 “… an attachment of a small or weak towards a great and powerful nation dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter.” In the context of the late 18th century, when the United States was a relatively small and weak country, Washington argued that it should steer clear of becoming a client state to either Great Britain or France.

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15 Perhaps even more important today when the United States is a world power rather than a client state, Washington argued against all “entangling alliances” because acting in one’s interest requires understanding clearly what those interests are. Any such alliance, he said, created a “sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists.”

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16 Throughout its history, the United States pursued a foreign policy plagued by the tension among the need for a strong defense, traditional republicanism, and the hope to act unilaterally in the world.

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17 As the United States became a world power in the 20th century, its traditional unilateralism gave way to a more multilateral foreign policy where it sought to work in concert with other countries in international organizations like NATO and the United Nations.

Slide 18: 

18 Unilateralism is a foreign policy that seeks to avoid international alliances or commitments. Multilateralism: foreign policy that seeks to encourage the involvement of several nation-states in coordinated action (usually in relation to a common adversary). Cold War is the period of struggle between the United States and the former Soviet Union between the late 1940s and about 1990. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); a treaty organization comprising the United States, Canada, and most Western Europe, formed in 1948 to counter the perceived threat from the Soviet Union.

figure 18.2 about here : 

19 figure 18.2 about here

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20 The United States fought the Cold War in a multilateral way seeking to contain communism and to build up its military strength, in part, to deter the Soviet Union from attack. Containment: a policy to restrict the expansion of communism and limit the influence of the Soviet Union [Korean War, Vietnam War, Creation of NATO, etc…] Deterrence: efforts to maintain military strength as a means of discouraging attack [the arms race]

WHAT DO YOU THINK? : 

21 WHAT DO YOU THINK? Why do you think it is that the president gained influence in American foreign policy making throughout the 20th century? Do you think that America’s relationships with other countries and with international organizations like the U.N. constitute “entangling alliances”?  Do you think America is stronger when it acts unilaterally or when it engages in multilateralism? 

The Instruments of Modern American Foreign Policy : 

22 The Instruments of Modern American Foreign Policy As is the case with any kind of policy making, foreign policy making is composed of a number of tools, institutions, and sources of influence. The key tools of foreign policy include: diplomacy United Nations international monetary structure economic aid collective security military deterrence

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23 Any nation-state employs certain tools to implement its foreign policy; the United States is no exception. nation-state: a political entity consisting of a people with some common cultural experience (nation) who also share a common political authority (state), recognized by other sovereignties

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24 Through the Department of State and the Foreign Service, the United States conducts foreign policy by maintaining friendly relations with the governments of other countries. Still, because such cooperation involves politics and trade-offs, American presidents frequently have been suspicious of diplomacy. = the representation of a government to other foreign governments. This traditional distrust of diplomacy has resulted in presidents often use military or political leaders outside the State Department during the a crisis.

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25 Established in 1945, the United Nations has served as a venue for negotiating international conflicts and seeking peaceful solutions. Despite some notable conflicts, the United States has frequently relied on the UN to accomplish its foreign policy aims. Korean War, for example, was conducted under the authority of the United Nations. But it was really a containment to stop communism expansion.

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26 American foreign policy aims are also achieved through economic solutions. Institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank stabilize the world economy and facilitate international exchange. Through direct economic aid to countries, the Unites States can provide assistance to needy countries and shore up its political position in the world.

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27 Through collective security arrangements and bilateral treaties with individual countries, the United States seeks to cooperate and have a somewhat shared fate with its partner countries. Still, the United States seems to share the largest part of the security burden in most of these relationships.

Slide 28: 

28 FIGURE 18.3 * Military spending, 2008 (in Billions of U.S. Dollars And Percentage of World Total) The most visible instrument of foreign policy is, of course, military force. The United States has built the world’s most imposing military, with army, navy, marine and air force units stationed in virtually every corner of the globe. The United States spends nearly as much on military might as the rest of the world combined (Figure 18.3).

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29 The high levels of military spending are elements of an overall strategy of military deterrence whereby the United States purportedly seeks “peace through strength.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK? : 

30 WHAT DO YOU THINK? Do you think the United States relies too much on diplomacy or on military strength? What are the strengths and limitations of each approach?  Is foreign policy through economic aid a shrewd means of world influence or merely a way of having American taxpayers fund world politics? Does the United States get its money’s worth in its collective security agreements, or should its partner countries have to share more of the burden? 

Roles Nations Play : 

31 Roles Nations Play Although it is difficult to categorize the complex mix of any nation’s foreign policy, there are several models of national roles in the international arena. Nations’ Roles Napoleonic role Holy Alliance role Balance-of-power role Economic expansionist role

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32 Napoleonic role: a strategy pursued by a powerful nation to prevent aggressive actions against it by improving the internal state of affairs of a particular country EX. “…the world must be made safe for democracy” (Woodrow Wilson) expressing the need for the U.S. to take on the Napoleonic role. Holy Alliance role: a superpower’s strategy to prevent any change in the existing distribution of power among nation-states, even if this requires intervening in another country to keep a ruler in power  The Holy Alliance role is pursued by nations attempting to preserve the social order against all revolutions and other major regime changes.

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33 balance-of-power role: the strategy whereby many countries ally in order to counterbalance the behavior of other, more powerful, nation-states economic expansionist role: the strategy pursued by capitalist countries to adopt foreign policies to maximize the success of their domestic corporations in the global economy

WHAT DO YOU THINK? : 

34 WHAT DO YOU THINK? Which of the four roles do you think best characterizes America’s contemporary role in international politics? Which of the four roles do you think is most consistent with America’s traditional foreign policy values? Do any of them fit? Why or why not? In what ways do you think recent events like 9/11 or America’s troubled experience in Iraq might affect the roles that future presidents adopt?

Clicker Questions : 

35 Clicker Questions Who shapes foreign policy? According to the authors, far and away the most important category of nonofficial foreign policy player is: Interest groups The media Public opinion Political consultants

Clicker Questions : 

36 Clicker Questions The constitutional foreign policy powers of the president include all of the following EXCEPT: Commander-in-Chief Negotiate treaties Nominate government officials Declare war

Clicker Questions : 

37 Clicker Questions Which treaty was designed to lower tariffs among the U.S., Canada and Mexico? Treaty of Toronto OPEC NAMBLA NAFTA

Clicker Questions : 

38 Clicker Questions ___________ means to try to cut off contacts with the outside, to be a self-sufficient fortress. Bipolar Détente Isolationism Multilateralism

Clicker Questions : 

39 Clicker Questions ___________ is defined as the development and maintenance of military strength as a means of discouraging attack. Deterrence Détente Multilateralism Collective security

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