Foreign Policy Chapter 19 In this chapter we will learn about The nature of foreign policy Who makes foreign policy The international and domestic contexts of foreign policy The strategies and instruments of foreign policy American foreign policy in a new century The challenges of secrecy to keeping the republic Understanding foreign policy U S government s goals and actions directed toward actors outside our borders Statements pronouncements written policies Actual behavior such as Trade War Arms sales Diplomacy Aid External actors in world politics Other countries Intergovernmental organizations IGOs Nongovernmental organizations NGOs Multinational corporations MNCs Nonstate actors like terrorist groups The setting of American foreign policy the Cold War USA USSR 1947 1989 Competition but not a direct hot war Iron Curtain Proxy wars in Middle East Latin America Africa Asia The setting of American foreign policy the Cold War cont d U S policy of containment of USSR from 1947 until end Berlin Wall fell 1989 Soviet Union collapsed 1991 The post Cold War setting of American foreign policy New world order What now guides U S foreign policy Replacement for containment What are our interests What threats do we face Post September 11 Axis of evil and war on terror Bush Doctrine Iraq Sudan Obama Doctrine Foreign policy types Crisis policy Strategic policy Structural defense policy Crisis policy Threats to national interest Limited time to respond Come about as a surprise Often with use of force implications Principal actors are president and advisers Visibility of policymaking is low involvement of Congress or others from outside is informal E g Cuban missile crisis or Iraq s invasion of Kuwait Strategic policy Designed to assert and implement the basic military and foreign policy stance of the United States toward others Involves primarily executive branch members and agencies Public debate and congressional involvement usually occur after the formal decisions are announced Congress may get involved often via subcommittees to lobby the executive E g containment foreign trade arms sales foreign aid immigration Structural defense policy Defense spending policies and programs Policy process usually centered in Congress with Pentagon and Defense contracts and interest groups E g base closures or building the new Joint Strike Fighter the F 35 Who makes foreign policy The president Chief executive Head of state Commander in chief Chief diplomat Chief legislator Who makes foreign policy cont d Executive branch National Security Council State Department Defense Department Joint Chiefs of Staf Intelligence community CIA and others New Director of National Intelligence Department of Homeland Security Who makes foreign policy cont d Congress Ratify treaties Senate Confirm appointments Senate Declare war Exercise spending power Oversee executive branch Pass legislation Power struggles Since both Congress and the president have foreign policy powers the Constitution may be an invitation to struggle Declarations of war out of date War Powers Act President must notify Congress if troops are moved into hostilities or where hostilities are imminent Those troops can stay for only 60 days unless Congress passes a specific authorization Meant to stop endless Vietnam and secret Cambodia wars Unconstitutional Widely ignored American style of foreign policy Global activism Hegemonic power Active in the afairs of others Pursuit of moral values Human rights Balancing interests Defend our security Promote our economy Spread democracy Global context for making foreign policy Condition of anarchy No binding authority above states Reliance on power Self help international system must cultivate and rely on power Security a primary goal Also an interdependent world What happens in one place is felt around the world Free trade underscores this interdependence So too does global climate change Global economic interdependence Bretton Woods system International Monetary Fund International Bank for Reconstruction and Development World Bank General Agreement on Tarifs and Trade GATT now the World Trade Organization Most favored nation MFN trade status Value of the dollar Domestic context for making foreign policy Public opinion Mass public s beliefs relatively stable risk casualty averse Can push policy change Resource in diplomacy Connected to government through elections and through the media Domestic context for making foreign policy cont d The media Decreasing coverage of foreign news Was up after 9 11 back down now Access to information can be limited by the government especially during war Two way street of influence 24 hour news cycle may speed up the foreign policy making process Domestic context for making foreign policy cont d Interest groups Groups that have individual members who share a common interest Groups lobby on behalf of these individuals Often organized around Ethnic diasporas Business and trade interests Other public interests like human rights Defense spending Foreign policy strategies Deterrence Using threats to prevent an opponent from doing something you think they otherwise would do E g assured destruction during the Cold War Compellence Using threats to make an opponent do something you think they otherwise would not do E g trying to force Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait Foreign policy strategies cont d Preemptive war Use force first when a threat is imminent Nuclear anticipatory retaliation strikes Israel attacks Egypt 1967 Preventive war Use force now to prevent a chain of events from unfolding that could later present an imminent threat Israel strikes Iraqi nuclear reactor 1981 U S invades Iraq 2003 Carrots and sticks Can each be used as inducements or rewards and as threats or punishments Coercive diplomacy Political instruments Propaganda Radio Free Europe Radio Marti Diplomacy Summits Covert political operations Carrots and sticks cont d Economic instruments Foreign aid Sanctions Embargoes Military instruments Armed forces Conventional Nuclear Military technology Special operations Military aid New threats terrorism International terrorism Violence that targets noncombatants to induce fear that will lead to policy change Used by states against their citizens Used by nonstate actors against others sometimes with the support of a country Terrorism as theater Superterrorism Creating mass death for its own sake Homegrown terrorism Typically motivated by a domestic grievance Unabomber Oklahoma