Pols- Section 12
US military and defense establishment
exists to provide the United States the ability to wage war against other state and nonstate actors.
Realists
Realists assume that others will act in their own self-interest and hence cannot necessarily be trusted. They want a healthy military and contracts between countries in case others want to wiggle out of their commitments. Realism also has a place in liberal internationalism, because the United States approaches foreign relationships with open eyes and an emphasis on self-preservation.
Foreign aid
With foreign aid, the United States provides material and economic aid to other countries, especially developing countries, in order to improve their stability and their citizens' quality of life. This type of aid is sometimes called humanitarian aid; in 2013 the U.S. contribution totaled $32 billion. Military aid is classified under military/defense or national security policy (and totaled $8 billion in 2013). At $40 billion the total U.S. foreign aid budget for 2013 was sizeable, though it represented less than 1 percent of the entire federal budget.
Congress
a bicameral legislative institution with 100 senators serving in the Senate and 435 representatives serving in the House. most congress members don't engage in foreign policy because there is no electoral benefit.
sole executive agreement
approved by the president
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the establishment and maintenance of a formal relationship between countries that governs their interactions on matters as diverse as tourism, the taxation of goods they trade, and the landing of planes on each other's runways. Diplomatic relations are formalized through the sharing of ambassadors. Tends to be the US's first step in resolving conflict with another country.
Intelligence policy
Intelligence policy is related to defense and includes the overt and covert gathering of information from foreign sources that might be of strategic interest to the United States. The intelligence world, perhaps more than any other area of foreign policy, captures the imagination of the general public. Many books, television shows, and movies entertain us (with varying degrees of accuracy) through stories about U.S. intelligence operations and people.
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
Perhaps the US's most free trade-oriented move was the 1991 implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This pact removed trade barriers and other transaction costs levied on goods moving between the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
treaty process
in article 2 of the constitution. The president negotiates a treaty, the Senate consents to the treaty by a two-thirds vote, and finally the president ratifies it.
Powers Resolution of 1973
intended as a statute to rein in executive power and reassert Congress as a check on the president, effectively gave presidents two months to wage war however they wish
Sharply focused foreign policy outputs
sharply focused foreign policy outputs tend to be exclusively the province of the president, including the deployment of troops and/or intelligence agents in a crisis, executive summits between the president and other heads of state on targeted matters of foreign policy, presidential use of military force, and emergency funding measures to deal with foreign policy crises
Public Laws
sometimes called statutes, are policies that affect more than a single individual. All policies enacted by Congress and the president are public laws, except for a few dozen each year. Acts on page 637
Foreign Policy
"the goals that a state's officials seek to attain abroad, the values that give rise to those objectives, and the means or instruments used to pursue them."
Objectives of US Foreign Policy
(1) the protection of the U.S. and its citizens, (2) the maintenance of access to key resources and markets, (3) the preservation of a balance of power in the world, and (4) the protection of human rights and democracy.
how the thesis has changed
1) the Cold War ended in 1989 with the demolition of the Berlin Wall, the subsequent disintegration of the Soviet Union, and the eventual opening up of Eastern European territories to independence and democracy 2)beginning in the 1980s and escalating in the 1990s, the Democratic and Republican parties began to become polarized in Congress 3) several analysts have tried applying the two presidencies thesis to contemporary presidential congressional relationships in foreign policy
Challenges of Foreign Policy
1) there isn't a true world-level authority dictating how the nations of the world should relate to one another 2) there are widely differing views among countries about the role of government in peoples lives 3) other countries have varying ideas about the appropriate form of government 4) many new foreign policy issues transcend borders 5) varying conditions of the countries in the world and their effect on what is possible in terms of foreign policy and diplomatic relations
Protectionism
A country is said to be engaging in protectionism when it does not permit other countries to sell goods and services within its borders, or when it charges them very high tariffs (or import taxes) to do so.
Reauthorization
All federal agencies, including those dedicated to foreign policy, face reauthorization every three to five years. If not reauthorized, agencies lose their legal standing and the ability to spend federal funds to carry out programs.
Ambassadors
Ambassadors are country representatives who live and maintain an office (known as an embassy) in the other country.
Congress & Foreign Policy
Approves treaties and agreements. Allocates funding. Makes war. Confirms ambassadors.
Free Trade
At the other end of the spectrum is a free trade approach, in which a country allows the unfettered flow of goods and services between itself and other countries
Broadly focused decisions
Broadly focused decisions typically take longer to formalize, bring in more actors in the United States and abroad, require more resources to carry out, are harder to reverse, and hence tend to have a lasting impact.
President & Foreign Policy
Country's foreign policy leader.
Presidential actions and power in terms of shared power
Even in the midst of a crisis, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, it is common for the president or senior staff to brief congressional leaders in order to keep them up to speed and ensure the country can stand unified on international matters. That said, there are areas of foreign policy where the president has more discretion, such as the operation of intelligence programs, the holding of foreign policy summits, and the mobilization of troops or agents in times of crisis. Moreover, presidents have more power and influence in foreign policymaking than they do in domestic policymaking. It is to that power that we now turn
when do the house and senate wade into foreign policy matters?
First, congressional party leaders in the majority and minority parties speak on behalf of their institution and their party on all types of issues, including foreign policy. Some House and Senate members ask to serve on the foreign policy committees, such as the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the two defense committees (Figure 17.13). These members might have military bases within their districts or states and hence have a constituency reason for being interested in foreign policy. Legislators might also simply have a personal interest in foreign policy matters that drives their engagement in the issue. Finally, they may have ambitions to move into an executive branch position that deals with foreign policy matters, such as secretary of state or defense, CIA director, or even president.
isolationism
From the end of the Revolutionary War in the late eighteenth century until the early twentieth century, isolationism—whereby a country stays out of foreign entanglements and keeps to itself—was a popular stance in U.S. foreign policy. Among the founders, Thomas Jefferson especially was an advocate of isolationism or non-involvement.
Global environmental Policy
Global environmental policy addresses world-level environmental matters such as climate change and global warming, the thinning of the ozone layer, rainforest depletion in areas along the Equator, and ocean pollution and species extinction. The United States' commitment to such issues has varied considerably over the years. For example, the United States was the largest country not to sign the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions. However, few would argue that the U.S. government has not been a leader on global environmental matters.
Idealists
Idealists assume the best in others and see it as possible for countries to run the world together, with open diplomacy, freedom of the seas, free trade, and no militaries. Everyone will take care of each other. There is an element of idealism in liberal internationalism, because the United States assumes other countries will also put their best foot forward. A classic example of a liberal internationalist is President Woodrow Wilson, who sought a League of Nations to voluntarily save the world after World War I.
two presidencies thesis
In the realm of foreign policy and international relations, the president occupies a leadership spot that is much clearer than in the realm of domestic policy. This dual domestic and international role has been described by the two presidencies thesis. This theory originated with University of California-Berkeley professor Aaron Wildavsky and suggests that there are two distinct presidencies, one for foreign policy and one for domestic policy, and that presidents are more successful in foreign than domestic policy.
Liberal Internationalism
Liberal internationalism advocates a foreign policy approach in which the United States becomes proactively engaged in world affairs. Its adherents assume that liberal democracies must take the lead in creating a peaceful world by cooperating as a community of nations and creating effective world structures such as the United Nations.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
NATO was formed after World War II as the Cold War between East and West started to emerge. While more militaristic in approach than the United Nations, NATO has the goal of protecting the interests of Europe and the West and the assurance of support and defense from partner nations. However, while it is a strong military coalition, it has not sought to expand and take over other countries. Rather, the peace and stability of Europe are its main goals. NATO initially included only Western European nations and the United States. However, since the end of the Cold War, additional countries from the East, such as Turkey, have entered into the NATO alliance.
Soft Power
Nonmilitary tools to influence another country, like economic sanctions
executive agreements
Over 90% of international agreements the us enters are executive agreements. they are negotiated by the president. United States vs. Pink (1942) the supreme court rules that executive agreements were legally equivalent to treaties provided they did not alter federal law.
Private laws
Require some sort of action or payment by a specific individual or individuals named in the law.
Sharply focused decisions
Sharply focused outputs tend to be processed quickly, are often unilateral moves by the president, have a shorter time horizon, are easier for subsequent decision-makers to reverse, and hence do not usually have so lasting an impact as broadly focused foreign policy outputs
Presidential roles
The Constitution names the president as the commander-in-chief of the military, the nominating authority for executive officials and ambassadors, and the initial negotiator of foreign agreements and treaties. The president is the agenda-setter for foreign policy and may move unilaterally in some instances. Beyond the Constitution, presidents were also gradually given more authority to enter into international agreements without Senate consent by using the executive agreement.
United Nations (UN)
The United Nations (UN) is perhaps the foremost international organization in the world today. The main institutional bodies of the UN are the General Assembly and the Security Council. The General Assembly includes all member nations and admits new members and approves the UN budget by a twothirds majority. The Security Council includes fifteen countries, five of which are permanent members (including the United States) and ten that are nonpermanent and rotate on a five-year-term basis. The entire membership is bound by decisions of the Security Council, which makes all decisions related to international peace and security. Two other important units of the UN are the International Court of Justice in The Hague (Netherlands) and the UN Secretariat, which includes the Secretary-General of the UN and the UN staff directors and employees.
Balance of trade
The balance of trade is the relationship between a country's inflow and outflow of goods. The US has a trade deficit which is when more goods and services are coming in than out.
Hard Power
The use of military power.
Broadly focused foreign policy outputs
consider public laws, the periodic reauthorization of the foreign policy agencies, the foreign policy budget, international agreements, and the appointment process for new executive officials and ambassadors.
Grand Strategy
employing all available diplomatic, economic, and military resources to advance the national interest. The grand strategy invokes the possibility of hard power, because it relies on developing clear strategic directions for U.S. foreign policy and the methods to achieve those goals, often with military capability attached
Congressional-executive agreement
negotiated by the president and then approved by a majority of the house and senate
Congress/ house and senate in foreign policy paragraph
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Foreign policy presidential leadership chart
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