Chapter 18: National Security Policymaking

Isolationism

A foreign policy course followed throughout most of our nation's history, whereby the United States has tried to stay out of other nations' conflicts, particularly European wars a national policy of avoiding participation in foreign affairs

Fun Fact

After World War I, President Wilson tried to get the U.S. to join the new League of Nations, a predecessor to the UN, that he had created. But the Senate refused to ratify the treaty because it violated the principle of isolationism. World War II changed this attitude permanently, and the U.S. became a founding member of the UN, even putting its headquarters in New York City.

Fun Fact

The president relies on diplomatic, defense, and intelligence personnel to provide information and advice that help him make foreign policy decisions

Wapons

-Nuclear weapons ICBMs Submarine-launched ballistic missiles Strategic bombers -Weapons are expensive $2 billion to build a stealth bomber $5.5 trillion -Arms reduction treaties

Energy

-OPEC has us over a barrel (of oil) Dependence on foreign oil Trade embargo -Middle East controls world's oil reserves Saudi Arabia 25% Kuwait 10% U.S. imports 50% of oil it uses

Why is foreign policy considered undemocratic?

-Policymakers not elected -Public not as knowledgeable -Congress plays smaller role

The Policymakers

-President Chief diplomat/Commander in chief Treaties, executive agreements -Diplomats State Dept./Secretary of State Bureaucratic and intransigent -National security establishment Joint Chiefs of Staff Secretary of Defense CIA -Congress

Changing Role of Military Power

-Soft power versus hard power -Humanitarian interventions Increasingly necessary Violate sovereignty Can cost American lives -Economic sanctions Influence behavior without force Cut off aid, trade embargoes Mixed record of success

American Foreign Policy and the War on Terrorism

-Spread of Terrorism -Afghanistan and Iraq

Bureaucracy and the Scope of Government

-Superpower status War on terror World's policeman Globalization Global warming -2 million employed in Dept. of Defense

Afghanistan and Iraq

-U.S. declares war on terrorism -Axis of evil Iran, Iraq, North Korea -Nation building -Anti-American sentiments

The Cold War

-Vietnam War -Era of détente -Reagan rearmament -Final thaw in the Cold War

Fun Fact

With some exceptions, the U.S. stayed out of other nation's conflicts until World War II. The only exception to this practice of isolationism was for Latin America. President James Monroe told European countries that the U.S. would stay out of European affairs and European nations were to stay out of Latin America.

Nuclear Proliferation

-9 nuclear powers United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel How to prevent more? Special concerns about Iran, North Korea, Pakistan

Spread of Terrorism

-9/11 not first attack -Difficult to defend against in open society Stealth, surprise, willingness to die Improved security and intelligence Clash with civil liberties

National Security Policymaking and Democracy

-Are international relations undemocratic? Citizens not as interested or knowledgeable Decision makers unelected -Policymakers responsive in long run Democracies rarely go to war Congress holds purse strings Pluralism is pervasive

The New National Security Agenda

-Changing Role of Military Power -Nuclear Proliferation -International Economy -Energy -Foreign Aid

Reforming Defense Policy

-Changing nature of threats Lighter, faster, more flexible Better intelligence Increased use of Special Forces

The Cold War

-Containment Stop spread of communism Brinkmanship Arms race/MAD

Defense Policy

-Defence Spending -Personnel -Weapons -Reforming Defence Policy

Foreign Aid

-Developing world Humanitarian Stabilization Access to raw materials -Forms of foreign aid Grants, credits, loans, loan forgiveness Military assistance Agricultural assistance Medical care -Unpopular

Isolationism

-Foreign policy doctrine until World War II League of Nations United Nations

Isolationism

-Foreign policy doctrine until World War II Monroe Doctrine

The International Economy

-Interdependency -International Trade Globalization of financial markets Nontariff barriers to trade -Balance of Trade What we buy from them versus what they buy from us $558 billion deficit in 2011

Personnel

-Large standing military 1.4 million active duty 847,000 National Guard and reserves 300,000 deployed abroad National Guard maintains national security

Instruments of Foreign Policy

-Military War, threat of war -Economic Almost as important as war Sanctions, tariffs, regulations -Diplomatic Treaties, summit talks First option

Understanding National Security Policymaking

-National Security Policymaking and Democracy -National Security Policymaking and the Scope of Government

What percentage of GDP is spent on economic and humanitarian foreign aid?

1%

How many active duty troops does the U.S. currently maintain?

1.4 million

Fun Fact

After World War II, the U.S. invested a lot of money in rebuilding Western Europe. It also sought to secure peace through its special status of being the only nuclear power. How did the Cold War begin? It started with the desire of the U.S. to isolate the Soviet Union to prevent the spread of communism. As China and North Korea, despite U.S. military intervention in the latter case, fell to communism, and the Soviet Union developed a nuclear arsenal, fear of war between East and West grew. The U.S. pursued a policy of brinkmanship, in which it was always prepared to use its nuclear weapons to deter the Soviet Union and China from aggression. By the 1950s, the arms race was gaining such momentum that each side had the ability to completely annihilate the other if attacked, a situation known as mutually-assured destruction.

Why haven't we yet won the war on terror?

Al Qaeda has fragmented but still exists, despite the killing of Osama bin Laden Al Qaeda has moved to Pakistan, where it enjoys high-level government support Anti-American sentiment has grown in the Muslim world to due to U.S. military action in the Mid East

Fun Fact

America's dependence on foreign oil can create frustrating foreign policy situations. If countries that sell oil to us, such as Arab countries, do not like our policies toward their enemies, such as Israel, they can set up a trade embargo, as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries did in 1973. The Middle East holds about half of the world's oil reserves. Saudi Arabia alone controls 25%, and the U.S. response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait is directly attributable to the fact that Kuwait produces about 10% of the world's oil. The U.S. has some oil of its own, but many European countries and Japan have none. The Middle East can be a politically unstable region. The need to stay on its good side so as not to impede the supply of oil frequently bumps up against human rights concerns. Should we support a brutal regime that supplies us with oil? What do you think?

Fun Fact

America's unique status as the world's richest superpower ensures that it has its hands in every global pie. We serve as the world's policeman, and we occupy a significant place in the international global economy. Problems such as global warming can't be solved without participation from the U.S. All of these factors together increase the scope of government immensely. The Department of Defense alone employs more than 2 million people.

Fun Fact

Because unelected military leaders and presidential appointees play such a prominent role in national security policymaking, there is a common perception that it's one of the most undemocratic areas of policy. And it doesn't help that citizens are less informed about or interested in foreign policy than in domestic policy. But citizens do make their wishes known in the area of foreign policy, and Congress listens. Congress still controls the purse strings, and has the power to ratify treaties and appointments. Pluralism is also as pervasive in foreign as in domestic policy. Jewish citizens, for example, guide policy toward Israel, and Cuban Americans influence policy toward Cuba. Arms manufacturers lobby for more defense money and contracts, and environmental groups urge sanctions against countries that harm the environment.

Fun Fact

Immediately after 9/11, President Bush declared war on terrorism, a more difficult proposition than declaring war on a single nation-state. But as the Al Qaeda terrorist network that masterminded the attacks was being supported by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Bush first set out to topple the Taliban regime and install a more pro-Western government in Afghanistan. Next he declared the three states of Iran, Iraq, and North Korea an "axis of evil." In 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. President Bush had warned of the difficulties of "nation building," that is, installing the institutions of government in a country. But the U.S. set out to do just that in both Afghanistan and Iraq. A far cry from its isolationist past, the U.S. now spoke of its responsibilities on the world stage to institute democracy and markets. But nation building has proven far more difficult than anticipated, as the dissolution of hard line regimes has exposed ancient tribal conflicts in these regions. As American involvement, expense, and casualties mounted, the popularity of these wars declined. The invasion of Iraq lacked strong domestic and international support to start with, and the U.S. occupation stirred up anti-American sentiment, making the threat of terrorist attacks against U.S. targets more, not less, likely.

Fun Fact

In this section, we turn to the politics behind the defense budget. Defense remains a significant expense for U.S. taxpayers. A strong defense is arguably necessary to ensure national security, but how much money is spent, and what it's spent on, is politically contentious.

American Foreign Policy: Instruments, Actors, and Policymakers

Instruments of Foreign Policy Actors on the World Stage The Policymakers

Actors on the World Stage

International organizations United Nations

Ex: McDonaldization

International trade can be a controversial subject. Companies tend to site factories where labor costs are cheap and regulations are minimal. U.S. companies, such as McDonald's, aggressively seek to expand their markets. Opponents argue that siting factories in countries with lower standards exploits workers and harms the environment, and that the expansion of American companies erodes cultural diversity.

American Foreign Policy Through the Cold War

Isolationism The Cold War

Fun Fact

Military strength has limited utility in modern foreign policy. It didn't win the Vietnam War, nor prevent the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Superior military force can't be used to obtain favorable trade agreements or achieve other economic foreign policy goals. Soft power is becoming more important than hard power in international relations, yet America's position as the only remaining superpower does mean that other countries often turn to us for military assistance. Humanitarian intervention is becoming more common when civil wars create humanitarian crises. The U.S. has, for example, used force to help distribute food in Somalia when warlords were battling for control and displacing refugees. But such intervention is controversial because it violates another country's sovereignty within its own borders and American lives may be lost on the mission. Some use of the military for humanitarian intervention is linked to natural disasters rather than manmade violent conflicts, such as when the military helped with distributing food and medical care in Haiti after the earthquake. Economic sanctions are used to influence a country's behavior without the use of military force. Cutting off aid and trade affect the economy of the country being pressured, and create internal calls for changes in policy. Sanctions have a mixed record of success. They were instrumental in bringing an end to apartheid in South Africa but they have failed to deter Iran from continuing its nuclear weapons program. Sanctions need broad international support to succeed and they can also provoke a nationalist backlash against the countries imposing them.

Fun Fact

Most foreign aid is given to the developing world. Some of it's given for humanitarian reasons, but stabilization of regimes friendly to the U.S. and access to raw materials located in these regions are both common motivations. Foreign aid takes a variety of forms. It can be given as a grant or a loan or in the form of forgiveness for previous loans or preferential trade agreements. Military assistance is given to countries of strategic significance to the U.S., such as Israel, Egypt, Turkey, and Greece. Aid can also be given in a variety of practical ways, such as help with modernizing agricultural irrigation systems or providing medical care. Foreign aid is unpopular with citizens, who greatly overestimate the amount spent on it. The U.S. gives more than any other country, but it gives a smaller percentage of its GDP to foreign economic development than any other developed nation, only 1%.

Fun Fact

Nations are increasingly economically interdependent. Building high barriers to prevent foreign products from competing with domestic ones is no longer a viable strategy for most countries, who depend upon foreign markets for their own products. U.S. exports have increased dramatically since World War II. Grain, computer hardware and software, airplanes, movies, construction equipment and services, and accounting and consulting services are major U.S. exports. The U.S. receives revenue from foreign tourists and students at U.S. colleges and universities. But the globalization of financial markets is even more instrumental in creating economic interdependence than the growth of trade. A decline on Wall Street is likely to send the Japanese stock market tumbling, too. Countries have been imposing fewer tariffs on imported goods because other countries would simply retaliate with their own tariffs. The world's been moving toward a free-trade model. But nontariff barriers to trade—such as quotas, subsidies, and quality specifications—still exist. The balance of trade is the ratio of what we as a country pay for imports to what we earn from exports. If we buy more than we sell, we have a trade deficit. In 2011, the U.S. had a trade deficit of $558 billion. Does this matter? What are the pros and cons of a trade deficit?

Fun Fact

Nine countries currently admit to having nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel. Some countries, such as South Africa, have given them up. Some countries, such as Iran, are seeking to acquire them. One of the biggest national security policy challenges for the U.S. is preventing more countries from obtaining nuclear weapons. The current biggest security threat from rogue states acquiring nuclear capabilities comes from Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan. Iran and North Korea have both ignored sanctions and rebuffed negotiations aimed at getting them to stop their development of nuclear weapons. Pakistan is already a nuclear power, as is its neighbor India. This situation is worrisome because India and Pakistan have been in dispute over the territory of Kashmir. Also, Pakistan's government seems unstable, and nuclear weapons could fall into the wrong hands.

Fun Fact

Now we'll look at national security policymaking as it relates to democracy and the scope of government.

Actors on the World Stage

Regional organizations NATO, EU Multinational corporations Nongovernmental organizations Terrorists Individuals

Who's the president's main foreign policy adviser?

Secretary of state

Fun Fact

Since there's a limited amount of tax revenue to be divided among different government spending priorities, there are inevitable trade-offs. Money spent on defense isn't available for health, education, or transportation. This tension has put pressure on the government to reduce defense spending in peacetime, a so-called peace dividend. But the defense industry employs a lot of workers. It's a powerful industry, with a lot of political weight. A bigger obstacle to cutting defense spending is the ideological commitment of conservatives to a strong military as a deterrent. Liberals prefer investing in health and education. The conservative viewpoint is bolstered whenever there's a credible threat, and the liberal stance has the upper hand in peacetime. After the end of the Cold War, defense spending declined until September 11, 2001, when it increased again. The U.S. currently spends more on defense than the next 15 to 20 countries combined.

Why didn't the U.S. join the League of Nations?

The Senate refused to ratify the treaty

Fun Fact

The U.S. didn't join the League of Nations, despite President Wilson's role in its founding, because the Senate thought that it violated the U.S. doctrine of isolationism.

Fun Fact

The U.S. has an immense arsenal of both nuclear and conventional weapons. The nuclear arsenal includes intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and strategic bombers. These weapons are incredibly expensive. It costs $2 billion to build one stealth bomber. The U.S. has spent $5.5 trillion on nuclear arms alone. As the Cold War wound down in the 1980s, the U.S. and the Soviet Union began to enter into arms reduction treaties. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, those treaties have continued with Russia.

Fun Fact

The U.S. maintains an active-duty force of 1.4 million, plus an additional 847,000 standing by in the National Guard and reserve units. Since the war on terrorism began, there have been upwards of 300,000 U.S. troops deployed abroad, mainly in Afghanistan and Iraq, but also at military bases around the globe. This deployment is expensive, and it leaves the National Guard and reserve units to maintain national security at home.

Fun Fact

The United Nations is the most prominent international organization. It engages in peacekeeping operations around the world, but also supports economic development, health, education, and child welfare programs.

Fun Fact

The changing nature of threats has prompted a rethinking of national security policy. The military is increasingly fighting elusive non-state opponents—that is, terrorists. This is causing changes in strategies and tactics. The armed forces are becoming lighter, faster, and more flexible, and relying more on intelligence obtained by high-tech means. There's an increasing use of special forces and specialized, elite units, rather than conventional soldiers.

Fun Fact

There's some concern that foreign policymaking is less democratic than domestic policymaking because many of the chief actors are unelected, the public is not as interested or knowledgeable in this area, and Congress plays a smaller role than it does in domestic policymaking.

Fun Fact

Two of the most significant regional organizations are NATO, which formed as a military alliance in opposition to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and the European Union, or the EU. The EU is a supranational governing body for its member states, who concede limited amounts of sovereignty to it in a sort of quasi-federal system. But the central government has far less power than the central government in the U.S. EU states remain completely autonomous and are sovereign nation-states. The EU serves mainly economic purposes. Enriched by globalization, multinational corporations have become as powerful as many countries on the international stage. They tend to use their power to persuade governments to overthrow other governments that present an obstacle to their markets and profits. Nongovernmental organizations such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International have also become fixtures on the world stage, making an effort to influence governments on environmental, human rights, and other issues. Terrorists, unfortunately, have to be acknowledged as increasingly important non-state actors. They sometimes receive support from hostile government regimes. They don't participate formally in organizations or diplomacy, but make their presence felt using violence. Individuals are international actors, too, when they travel to foreign lands as tourists, students, or immigrants.

The Cold War

War by other than military means usually emphasizing ideological conflict

Brinkmanship

the willingness to go to the brink of war to force an opponent to back down