Transcript Chapter 17
Chapter 17 Foreign & Defense Policy What is Foreign Policy? • A nation’s external goals and techniques and strategies used to achieve them • American foreign policy includes national security policy, which is policy designed to protect the independence and the political and economic integrity of the United States Tools of Foreign Policy • Diplomacy – the process by which states carry on relations with each other (can also mean settling conflicts among nations through peaceful means) • Economic aid – assistance to other nations through grants, loans or credits to buy the assisting nation’s products • Technical assistance – sending individuals with expertise in agriculture, engineering or business to aid other nations Foreign Policy • A major goal of foreign policy is national security, which is often a difficult and complex task. • Defense policy is a subset of national security policy that includes the directing of the scale and size of the American armed forces. – Defense policy considers the types of armed forces we need and the types of weaponry required. Competing Views of Foreign Policy • Moral Idealism – one theory of how nations act, it views all nations as willing to cooperate and agree on moral standards for conduct. – When the U.S. has encountered leaders of foreign nations who did not fit this model, the U.S. did not alter from its position. – Foreign policies that are based on moral idealism are unsuccessful because they assume that every nation has the same idea of morality as America. • Political Realism – sees each nation acting to maximize its own interest. – Foreign policy will be used not to further idealistic goals, but rather reflect the values that produce the best results for the nation. Current Challenges in World Politics • • • • • Terrorism The Dissolution of the Soviet Union Nuclear proliferation Terrorism Regional Conflicts Powers of the President in Making Foreign Policy • Constitutional Powers – solemnly swears to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” – is commander in chief of the military – can make treaties (which are later ratified by the Senate) – can enter into executive agreements – can appoints ambassadors • Informal powers – has access to information – is a legislative leader who can influence Congress’s foreign policy – can influence public opinion – can commit the nation morally to a course of action Other Sources of Foreign Policy • Department of State – supervises relations with other independent nations and with multinational organizations like the United Nations – staffs embassies – power has declined since World War II – has “negative constituents,” Americans who oppose aspects of U.S. foreign policy • National Security Council – advises the president on policies relating to national security – provides continuity from one presidential administration to the next Other Sources of Foreign Policy (cont.) • The Intelligence Community – includes government organizations involved in information gathering about the capabilities and intentions of other countries • Some agencies in the intelligence community include • The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) • National Security Agency (NSA) • Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) • the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Other Sources of Foreign Policy • The Department of Defense – – designed to bring all military activities under the jurisdiction of a single agency headed by a civil secretary of defense – has seen size of military significantly reduced – has seen reductions in civilian employees Congress Balances the President • How much power should the president have in the area of foreign policy? – Constitutional restrictions on treaties and declarations of war by the president. – Passage of the War Powers Act limited the president’s use of troops in military action without congressional approval. Major Foreign Policy Themes • “Negative” foreign policy during 1700 and 1800’s (isolationism) – mistrust of Europe – militarily weak – shaped by the Monroe Doctrine • Spanish –American War and World War I – seen as temporary entanglements – lasted from 1898- 1918 – followed by a resurgence of isolationism • The Era of Internationalism – began with bombing of Pearl Harbor, and U.S. entry into World War II – resulted in significant increases in defense spending – emerged from World War II with a strengthened economy – controlled nuclear weapons The Cold War: the ideological, political and economic impasse that existed between the U.S. and the USSR following the end of their WWII alliance • during the Cold War, U.S. foreign policy was dominated by containment, the idea limiting Communist power to its (then) existing countries • the Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the superpowers came to direct confrontation • détente between the U.S. and the Soviet Union occurred in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s The Cold War (cont.) • during the 1980’s the Reagan administration lobbied for the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI or “Star Wars), and also negotiated significant arms control treaties – the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the developments in Eastern Europe made negotiating arms control more difficult, as nuclear weapons are now held by a number of sovereign nations, rather than one.