1. Foreign & Military Policy
Chapter 20
Foreign & Military Policy

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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
Political Realism – sees each nation acting principally in its own interest

5. Current Challenges in World Politics
terrorism
the Dissolution of the Soviet Union
nuclear proliferation
Regional Conflicts

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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)

9. 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)

10. Local Government Units (cont.)
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

11. 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
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

12. 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

13. 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.

14. What is our foreign policy today???