POL S 202: Intro to American Politics

1. POL S 202: Intro to American Politics “Foreign Policy” Week 9: November 27, 2007

2. American Politics in the News… Interesting News Stories: 1. Oprah to support Barack Obama in early states – Iowa, NH, S. Carolina 2. Trent Lott, Republican, Mississippi, resigned from Senate as of Dec 2007 3. US to offer security deals with Iraq in exchange for US troop presence

3. Who is the current Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court? • Anthony Scalia • John Roberts • Clarence Thomas • William Rehnquist

4. If two Federal circuit courts disagree over a case, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case and decide • True • False

5. U.S. Foreign Policy • What is foreign policy? • A nation’s external (international) goals and the external techniques used to achieve them • Examples of foreign policy: • Diplomacy • Economic aid • Technical assistance • Military intervention

6. Comparing U.S. Assistance

7. Comparing U.S. Assistance

8. U.S. Foreign Policy • Diplomacy: The process by which states carry on political relations with each other; settling conflicts among nations by peaceful means • Economic aid: Assistance to other nations in the form of grants, loans or credits to buy the assisting nation’s products • Technical assistance: The practice of sending experts or technology in such areas as agriculture, engineering, or business as aid • Military intervention: The deployment of the armed forces inside the border of another nation

9. U.S. Foreign Policy • Foreign Policy Process: The steps by which the nation’s foreign policy goals are decided and acted upon. • National Security Policy: Policy that is concerned specifically with the safety and defense of the nation. • Defense Policy: A subset of national security policy – policies having to do with the U.S. armed forces (Dept. of Defense).

10. Implementing Foreign Policy • Who is responsible for U.S. foreign policy?

11. Implementing Foreign Policy • What about the President? From Department of State Website (www.state.gov) “Under the Constitution, the President of the United States determines U.S. foreign policy. The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department and the Foreign Service of the United States.”

12. Who Makes Foreign Policy • Article 2, Sec 2 of Constitution designates president as “Commander in Chief” and gives power to make treaties • President also uses power of executive agreement to negotiate international deals • Senate does not need to approve exec. agree. • President sets the national foreign policy agenda, but does not necessarily dictate how and when the policy is implemented

13. Who Makes Foreign Policy • Other Sources of Foreign Policymaking: • Department of State • National Security Council • Central Intelligence Agency • Department of Homeland Security • Department of Defense • Congress

14. Congress and Foreign Policy • Role of Congress increased during the Vietnam War (1964-1975) • 1973, War Powers Resolution, limits president’s use of military troops and requires approval of Congress • Congress may pass legislation that institutes sanctions, mandates economic aid, or allows for military intervention • Congress controls DoS, DoD, DHS budget

15. History of U.S. Foreign Policy • Monroe Doctrine – US will not accept foreign intervention into Western Hemisph and USA will not intervene in Europe • Spanish-American War / WWI – US breaks with isolationist policy to participate in international conflicts • WWII / Internationalism – Following the war US emerges as world’s superpower and takes active role in international relations

16. History of U.S. Foreign Policy • Cold War – US and Soviet Union become enemies based on economic ideology • Containment Policy / Truman Doctrine – US must prevent expansion of communism • Post-Cold War – Period from 1989 to 2001 in which no major superpower existed to threaten the United States • Post 9/11 – Current era following terrorist attacks in US including “war on terror”

17. Washington State and Foreign Policy

18. Washington State and Foreign Policy