Foreign Policy and Democracy

 

Who Makes and Shapes Foreign Policy?

 

            NO SINGLE VOICE

 

The President

                        Commander in Chief

                        Negotiate Treaties

                        Select, Nominate and Receive Ambassadors

           

            The Bureaucracy

CIA, NSA, JCOS (Join Chiefs), NSC (National security counsel), DHS (Department of Homeland Security)

           

Congress

                        Declare War

                        Treaty Ratification

                        Regulate Foreign Commerce (Tariffs)

 

            Interest Groups

                        Power to the People

                        Single Issue-Economic Groups

                        Ethnic/ Country of Origin Groups

 

            The Media

                        Security v. Freedom of Press

                        Imbedded Journalism

                        Television Age

 

            Other Countries

                        Examples: France late 18th century, Russia 20th century

 

What Are the Values in American Foreign Policy?

           

            Legacies of the Traditional System

                        Tariffs

Unilateralism- A foreign policy that avoids international alliances, entanglements, and permanent commitments in favor of independence, neutrality and freedom of action

 

            The Great Leap to World Power

Multilateralism- A foreign policy that encourages the involvement of several nation-states in coordinated action, usually in relation to a common adversary, with terms and conditions usually specified in a multicountry treaty (NATO)

Containment- Use of political, economic, and military power to prevent the spread of communism to prevent the spread of communism to developing or unstable countries

Deterrence- The development and maintenance of military strength for the purpose of discouraging attack

 

What are the Instruments of Modern American Foreign Policy?

           

            Diplomacy

                        President Alone/Distrust of Diplomacy

Military option is the “club behind the door,” to be used when diplomacy fails, “speak softly and carry a big stick”

 

            The United Nations

Organization of nations founded on 1945 to serve as a channel for negotiation and a means of settling international disputes peaceably

Unites States provides 26% of UN funding

 

            Economic Aid

                        Marshall Plan

                        Who profits from foreign aid?

                                    Elites or common people?

                        Foreign Aid tied closely to enough to diplomacy?

                                    Agriculture, State, Defense

 

            Collective Security

                        Work together with other nations to keep us safe

                        Multilateralism/bilateralism/unilateralism

                        Producer of security vs. consumer of security

            Military Deterrence

                        MAD

                        Is deterrence applicable in our current world?

 

Three philosophies of foreign policy

    Realism (realpolitik) -- policy should be guided by self interest (as opposed to ethics and values) and as such will be unilateral, military force is viewed as necessary, diplomatic institutions (like the UN) are viewed as not particularly critical

    Idealism (Wilsonianiasm or Liberalism) policy should be guided by values (women's rights, capitalism, human rights, democracy, etc), diplomatic institutions should be the route for resolving disputes, solutions should be sought multilaterally (with other countries)

    Neo-Conservatism -- policy should be guided by values but diplomatic institutions cannot be entrusted to always do so sometimes the military has to do the job -- because Europe has largely abandoned its leadership role the US is the only country that can be trusted to spread Western values