Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2006 Chapter 17 Foreign and Defense Policymaking American Government: Policy & Politics, Eighth Edition TANNAHILL

Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2006

Chapter 17

Foreign and Defense Policymaking

American Government: Policy & Politics,

Eighth EditionTANNAHILL


In This Chapter We Will Cover:• The history of American foreign

policy• The international community• The means and ends of American

foreign and defense policy• American foreign policy after 9/11• American defense policy


The History of American Foreign Policy

• Periods of U.S. Foreign Policy– From Isolationism to Internationalism

• For most of the first century of the nation’s history, the U.S. avoided what President Washington called “entangling alliances.”

– Monroe Doctrine – World War I– World War II



– The Cold War and the Policy of Containment• The relationship between the United

States and the Soviet Union was the dominant element of American foreign policy after World War II.

–The Marshall Plan–Containment–The Truman Doctrine



– Détente• In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the

two superpowers entered an era of improved relations known as Détente.

–Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) 1969

–Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty 1972



– American Foreign Policy in the 1970s: Recognition of Limits• The Nixon Doctrine declared that

although the United States would help small nations threatened by communist aggression with economic and military aid, those countries must play a major role in their own defense.



– American Foreign Policy in the 1980s: A Resurgent America• The Reagan Doctrine called for the

United States to offer military aid to groups attempting to overthrow communist governments anywhere in the world.



– The Disintegration of the Soviet Union and the End of the Cold War• In the late 1980s, a new Soviet leader,

Mikhail Gorbachev, recognized that the Soviet system was failing. He responded with bold economic and political reforms.

–Perestroika–Glasnost


The International Community• The nation-state is a political community,

occupying a definite territory, and having an organized government.

• Diplomatic relations refers to a system of official contacts between two nations in which the countries exchange ambassadors and other diplomatic personnel and operate embassies in each other’s country.


The International Community

• The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945 as a diplomatic forum to resolve conflicts among the world’s nations.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) is an international organization created to control disease worldwide.



• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization created to promote economic stability worldwide.

• The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international organization that administers trade laws and provides a forum for settling trade disputes among nations.



• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a regional military alliance consisting of the United Sates, Canada, and most of the European democracies.



• The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in an international accord among the Unites States, Mexico, and Canada to lower trade barriers among the three nations.


The Ends and Means of American Foreign and Defense Policy

• Ends– The United States has consistently

pursued three foreign and defense policy goals throughout its history: national security, economic prosperity, and the projection of American values abroad.


The Ends and Means of American Foreign and Defense Policy

• Means– The United States attempts to achieve

foreign policy goals through the use of military force, economic, diplomatic, and cultural means.


American Foreign Policy After 9/11

• The United States: is the world’s “indispensable nation” (M. Albright).

• Internationalist versus unilateralist views


American Defense Policy

• Defense Spending– In general, defense spending rises during

wartime and falls during peacetime.


Defense Spending as Percentage of GDP


Defense Forces and Strategy

• Strategic (nuclear) and conventional (non-nuclear) forces

• Strategic forces– MAD - mutual assured destruction– National Missile Defense (NMD) System

• Conventional forces– 1.4 million troops in uniform– Substitute firepower for manpower?


U.S. Military Personnel


Concluding Review Questions

• What are the arguments for and against the policy of preemption?

• What are the most important themes in the history of American foreign policy?

• How has the environment for American foreign and defense policymaking changed since the end of the Cold War?


Concluding Review Questions• What are the four principle means through

which the United States has pursued its foreign policy goals?

• What factor has the greatest impact on changes in defense spending relative to the overall economy?

• What impact have the events of September 11, 2001 and the war in Iraq and the following occupation had on American defense policy?

Documents

Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2006 Chapter 17 Foreign and Defense Policymaking American Government: Policy & Politics, Eighth Edition TANNAHILL