American Foreign Policy

America the Giant United States foreign policy has a profound impact around the world militarily, politically, culturally and in economics Global power can result in influence, envy, and resentment One of the most difficult areas of policy because you are operating with, against, and within widely differing cultures and sometimes dealing with irrational agents Making foreign policy predictions has proven to be incredibly difficult and can result in difficulty in policy development

2011 Defense Budget

The Politics of Foreign Policy Foreign policy is not as easy to divide down Democrat/Republican lines as domestic policy; can cause fissures within a party Presidents have far more control and are typically granted greater latitude in foreign policy by Congress Criticism of foreign policy or America is in many case more tempered than in other cases especially during times of war or when traveling overseas, why? Criticism ends when the water begins American citizens tend to grant President’s greater latitude in foreign policy than in domestic policy, why? What can change this?

Ideologies: Isolationism v. Internationalism Isolationism: the belief that the country should avoid a large role in world affairs and focus on internal matters While never completely isolationist, this was the dominant belief in the United States dating from Washington until WWII Washington’s farewell letter warned against foreign entanglements, why? Major drop in support after WWII, why? May be enjoying a renaissance today, why? Internationalist: belief that the US should involve itself deeply in world affairs Favor involvement in international institutions such as the UN and signing international treaties Becomes dominant after WWII, why? What role does the United States play as the world’s sole superpower? Sometimes also called hawks and doves, but this is not always an accurate description of these two groups

Ideologies: Realpolitik v. Human Rights Realpolitik: politics or diplomacy based primarily on power and on practical and material factors and considerations, rather than explicit ideological notions or moral or ethical premises The United States government’s first duty is to help the United States even if it doesn’t help other countries; dictators? “You don’t get to deal with the world as you would like for it to be, you have to deal with it as it is” Risks? Human rights: the belief the diplomacy should be predicated on the idea that a country should do what is best for the human rights (free speech, religion, etc.) of the people Became a greater focus in the Carter administration in the 1970’s Risks?

Goals of US Foreign Policy The basic goal of American foreign policy is national security, the ability to keep the country safe from attack, why? International Trade: trade is vital to today’s global economy and American prosperity, trade makes markets for American products and jobs for American workers; oil? World Peace: war away from the US can disrupt trade and endanger American national security, nuclear proliferation, examples? Promote Democracy and Capitalism: promoting democracy, trade, and basic human rights around the world encourages peace; why? Preventing terrorism: preventing terrorist organizations from developing and executing attacks within the United States or against our interests abroad Full scale war Intelligence gathering and operations Diplomacy and negotiation

Tools of Foreign Policy Appointing Ambassadors: ambassadors are an official representative of a country's government; ambassadors are only sent to countries where the US recognizes the legal existence of the government; North Korea, Cuba Can be highly political Creating Treaties and Executive Agreements: treaties are formal agreements between 2 or more countries, can deal with trade or defense, must be approved by Senate NATO, NAFTA; for smaller matters a President may use an executive agreement Benefits and Risks Foreign Aid: money, food, military assistance, or other supplies give to help other countries Effective? International Trade: President can negotiate rules for trade Trade sanctions, embargo Cuba v. South Africa Effective?

Tools of Foreign Policy-Military Power The United States possess immense military power in terms of size, capability, and technology Nuclear power: despite reductions in the size of our nuclear arsenal the US still possess the world’s second largest arsenal and maintains second strike capability; deterrence and MAD Conventional war: have not fought a “full- out” conventional war since WWII, capable of fighting two medium sized wars Controversy, budget cuts Limits Guerrilla warfare: asymmetrical warfare, US has far more difficulty in these situations Goals of guerrilla warfare? Why is it hard to fight? Nation building? Political patience and support Strain on the military and economy Your momma