POTUS is the commander-in-chief -but Congress appropriates the money

POTUS appoints ambassadors -but Senate confirms them

POTUS negotiates treaties -but the Senate must ratify them with a two-thirds vote, and treaties are only a promise to get Congressional approval.

Only Congress can regulate commerce with other nations and declare war Easier for the President to get congressional approval for foreign policy matters than domestic initiatives.

Congress also limits the president’s ability to give military or economic aid to other countries. Oversight: House and Senate intelligence committees must be fully informed; including covert operations.

SCOTUS has ruled that the federal government has foreign and military policy powers beyond those specifically mentioned in the Constitution

The Supreme Court is reluctant to intervene in Congress-President disputes about war powers.

Chaired by POTUS and includes the VP, secretaries of state and defense

usually includes the director of the CIA, chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Attorney General

The goal is to present various perspectives, facilitate presidential decision making, and implement presidential decisions.

The public tends to support the president in crises (***Rally Round the Flag Effect***) Military casualties often lead the public to support escalation, so fighting will end more quickly. Since World War II, the public has generally felt the U.S. should play an important international role. Elites feel more strongly and their views tend to change more rapidly about foreign affairs than the public due to their increased knowledge/awareness of foreign affairs.

Worldview (or paradigm): comprehensive mental picture of world issues

1. Isolationism paradigm (1920s–1930s): opposes getting involved in wars

2. Containment (anti-appeasement) paradigm (1940s–1960s): postwar policy to resist Soviet expansionism

3. Disengagement (Vietnam Syndrome): Reluctance to get involved (1970s, continuing): reaction to military defeat and the political disaster of Vietnam

4. Human rights: prevent genocide--the mass murder of people, usually because of their race or ethnicity.

Since 9/11, foreign policy has had to focus on terrorism and what to do with nations that have harbored terrorists The demise of the USSR unleashed various nationalist, religious and extreme political forces around the world. Superpower status in a unipolar world leaves the U.S. vulnerable both at home and abroad to terrorist attacks

Twenty-percent of the federal budget. What do we spend it on? Personnel: The military has been a smaller, more effective, all-volunteer force since Vietnam Big ticket items (Aircraft, ships, missile systems) may result in cost overruns—the difference between actual costs and estimated costs Small ticket items: The problem is getting small equipment (e.g., a coffeemaker) that will fit into an odd space (e.g., a plane), often results in ***GOLD PLATING.

Readiness: (Training) Cut the most often because it doesn’t affect constituencies like cutting bases or big-ticket items.

Bases: the system for locating/maintaining military bases is purely client politics.

Closing a base = putting thousands of people out of work, hurting local businesses.

The United States has traditionally maintained a small professional military, but the world wars and the Cold War convinced us that we needed to maintain a ,ore powerful military.

Resulted in the ***MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX-An alliance between senior military commanders, the Department of Defense and the Defense Industry

Each military department has a civilian secretary responsible for organizational tasks and a military leader responsible for training and equipping the force.

Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS): composed of uniformed head of each service. Their job is to advise POTUS and SECDEF on the best course of action.

GOAL #1 NATIONAL SECURITY

Protect American borders, territory and property from attack or control by foreign powers. +POSITIVE: Keeps America stable and secure -NEGATIVE: Risk of long, costly involvement in foreign wars. Unforeseen consequences. Examples: Air strikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

GOAL #2 FREE & OPEN TRADE

Preserve access to natural resources and foreign markets. +POSITIVE: Maintains the American economy, and standard of living. -NEGATIVE: Bad trade agreements could hurt American companies; globalization that could lead to conflict, war etc. Examples: •Trade agreements with China

GOAL #3 WORLD PEACE

Maintaining stability of the world situation. Requires cooperation and negotiation with foreign powers and occasionally supplying economic aid. +POSITIVE: Conflict prevention; maintains world stability -NEGATIVE: Deals may have long-term negative consequences. Examples: •Working through the United Nations to resolve world problems; Iran nuclear deal

GOAL #4 SUPPORTING AMERICA’S ALLIES

U.S. helps supports (primarily democratic) governments that are friendly to the U.S. with economic, political and military aid. +POSITIVE: Ensures the U.S. has partners when dealing with wars, crises or potential conflicts. -NEGATIVE: Greater risk of getting involved in conflict; occasionally supporting people who don’t share our ideals Examples: •American military and political support for NATO countries •U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

GOAL #5 HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

Providing $$$ and resources to poor countries. POSITIVE: Helps promote economic growth; health and education; stabilize governments; encourages peace and security. NEGATIVE: Countries become dependent upon support; unwittingly helping to keep bad people in power; unforeseen consequences. Examples: Somalia (1992); Haiti (2010); Nepal (2015)

The State Department is responsible for carrying out foreign policy. Headed by the Secretary of State (SECSTATE) who is POTUS’ chief foreign policy advisor and chief U.S. representative to other countries. State maintains embassies and consulates around the world to aid relations with other countries.

PRE-1898 The U.S. practiced a strict policy of ISOLATIONISM. The Founding Fathers warned America to beware of foreign entanglements. The U.S. was only concerned about North America (MONROE DOCTRINE) and had the oceans as a barrier.

1898 Isolationism begins to come to an end with the Spanish-American War. The U.S. obtained military bases in the Pacific and Caribbean during this period to protect American overseas trade. Improvements in science and technology were making it politically and economically difficult for the U.S. to remain uninvolved in the world.

1914-1941 U.S. is dragged into two world wars due largely to attacks by foreign powers. Isolationism makes a strong comeback after WWI but rapidly comes to an end in 1941 with the U.S. entry into WWII. 1945: Using her new status as a superpower, the U.S. helps to resolve international disputes, chiefly through the United Nations. New policy called INTERNATIONALISM.

1945-1992 In order to contain the spread of communism, the U.S. begins intervening politically, economically and militarily in other countries INTERVENTIONISM U.S. and Soviet Union wage war against each other by struggling for influence over newly-independent and developing countries. Leads to U.S. involvement in Korea and Vietnam as well as numerous smaller wars around the world.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization Founded in 1949 as a mutual-defense alliance to counter the threat posed by the Soviet Union.

COLLECTIVE SECURITY If one country is attacked, the others are obligated to come to its aid. EX: Many NATO countries contributed troops to the war in Afghanistan. The Soviet Union started the Warsaw Pact as a rival organization.

1992-The breakup of the Soviet Union removed the primary threat to NATO but the organization has grown to 28 member-states. Many are former Soviet satellite states and former Soviet republics who are concerned about Russia’s resurgence. EX: Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia. Russia doesn’t trust the U.S. and doesn’t like having allies of America on her borders.

1992-PRESENT Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. is maintaining its policy of internationalism and collective security Focused on: Ending conflicts that have the potential to spread into bigger wars Humanitarian crises Fighting terrorism. Policy involves NATO and allies like Israel.

RUSSIA •Attempting to reassert control over countries that were once part of the Soviet Union, some of which are allies of the United States. •Growing influence in the Middle East CHINA •Becoming the dominant military and economic power in East Asia. •Growing population •Bad blood with Japan (U.S. Ally)