Chapter 20: Foreign and Military Policy

This chapter explores how a democracy can maintain enough secrecy to conduct a good foreign policy and askes the question: Should our foreign policy reflect what is in America's interests or should it be based on some conception of human rights?

Kinds of Foreign Policy

Foreign policy consists of those decisions and nondecisions that are predicted to have widely distributed benefits and impose widely distributed costs.

Examples

• The decision to go to war


• The establishment of military alliances with Western Europe


• The debate on opening diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China
  

Who has power in foreign policy?

• majoritarian nature- The President


• interest group or client politics- Congress

The Constitutional and Legal Context

Checks and balances play a large role in creating foreign policy in the United States. Edward Corwin, professor at Princeton University in the late 1800's, says that as the Consitution describes foreign policy, it is an "Invitation to struggle."

Examples

• The president is commander in chief of the military, but Congress must authorize and appropriate money for those forces.

Although there is this system of checks and balances, the American people tend to agree that the president is in charge in foreign affairs. History supports this clain. President shave asserted the right to send troups abroad on 125 instances and only five of the thirteen major wars in which the United States participated have followed formal declarations from Congress.

Presidential Agencies with little Congressional control: The State Dept., CIA, and National Security Agency.

Checks on Presidential Power over Foreign Policy:

• Limitations on ability to give military or economic aid to other countries.


• War Powers Act of 1973 (more on that later)


• Intelligence Oversight, e.i. CIA reporting coverts to House and Senate Intelligence Committees

War Powers Act of 1973

• President must report in writing, within 48 hours, about where troups have been allocated


• 60 days after troups are sent to hostile situation, Congress must declare war


• If Congress refuses approval, troups must be withdrawn


• The president must comply with Congressional resolutions which s/he may not veto.

This act has had very little impact on American military actions. Every president since the War Powers Act has sent troups abroad without any explicit congrssional authorization. No president has ever claimed that the War Powers Act is constitutional and in the 1983 INS v. Chadha case, the Supreme Court struck down legislative veto, making the War Powers Act's section on legislative veto in constitutional trouble.

The Machinery of Foreign Policy

From foreign policy's inception, well into the 20th century, foreign policy was decided and carried out by the secretary of state. After the US became a major world power during WWII, the job became too diverse and too large for one person.

Departments have spread themselves across the world to keep tabs on foreign affairs.

The National Security Council consists of:

• President
• Vice president
• Secretary of state
• Secretary of defence
• Director of the CIA
• Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Attorney general

This staff concerns itself with foreign policy. A rivalry of sorts has emerged between the NSC staff and the secretary of state over who is in charge of foreign policy. But, as history shows, these rivalries further establish the importance of checks and balances in American politics.

Foreign Policy and Public Opinion

The broad outline of of governmental conflicts are shaped by public and elite opinion.

Before WWII, the majority of Americans supported isolationism

After WWII, the majority of Americans felt it was their duty to be a world mediator because of its position as a dominant power on earth. That position being granted because of the US' possession of the atomic bomb and its enormous military and economic productivity.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941 was the turning point in American public opinion on involvement in foreign affairs.

Backing the President

Americans have developed a "rally around the flag" attitude. After a president makes a dramatic decision, his approval rating soars.

Example

Just before September 11, 2001, George W. Bush's favorability rating was 51%; just after the attack, it was 86%.

Mass Versus Elite Opinion

The masses generally do not know all of the details concerning foreign affairs; i.e. How far Baghdad is from Kuwait, or why the Jews and Palestinians disagree about the future of Israel.

Political elites have a different perspective. They are better informed and are more likely to change their opinions rapidly.

Cleavages Among Foreign Policy Elites

Many different people make up the political elite, therefore, disagreements are often found. Senior officials and staff members, various private organizations, influential writers and editorial columnists, lobbyists, professors, and leaders of veterans' organizations all make up the population of Foreign Policy Elites.

How a Worldview Shapes Foreign Policy

Foreign Policy beliefs can be summed up as worldviews (or paradigms) more or less comprehensive mental pictures of the critical problems facing the United States in the world and of the appropriate and inappropriate ways of responding to these problems.

Some popular worldviews become the foundation of foreign policy for decades.

Evolution of worldview: Pre-20th Century- Isolationism, Mid-20th Century(1940-1970)- Containment, Late 20th Century(1970-1990)- Disengagement, Present(1990-present)- Human Rights

Isolationism- adopted from experience in WWI. The US vowed to stay out of world affairs after WWI accomplished little, took thousands of Americans' lives, and had certainly not made the world safe for democracy

Containment- after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Containment of communism and totalitarian spread around the world.

Disengagement- adopted after the political disaster of the Vietnam War. The US second guesses its position in world affairs to avoid entering into "another Vietnam".

Human Rights- Preventing unjust treatment around the world. Ending genocides and tyrranical majorities. Spreading equality.

The Use of Military Force

Military force is still a very important factor in today's society.

Nations that feel threatened by their neighbors (i.e. China, India, Pakistan, and Israel) keep nuclear bombs for defense.

Two views of role of military in American Life:

Majoritarian- the military exists to defend and to help other nations defend

Benificiary- the military is a large and powerful client

The Defense Budget

The defense budget begs two questions: 1) how much money we spend and 2) how it is divided up?

Total Spending

After the Soviet Union ceased to exist, Americans didn't know whether to maintain current levels of defense spending, or reduce levels because of lack of threat.

Because of the United State's position as "World Police", spending on military has always been a priority.

What Do We Get with Our Money?

People- soldiers, sailors, airmen and airwomen. (these are the most expensive parts of the budget)

Big ticket items- aircraft carriers and bombers

Small ticket items- hammers and screwdrivers

Readiness- training, supplies, munitions, fuel, and food

The Structure of Defense Decision-Making

Department of Defense headed by the secretary of defense, who is a civilian, as well as the secretaries of the army, navy and air force, who are all also civilians.

The military forces cannot be merged or commanded by a single military officer.

Reason One: the fear of many citizens that a unified military force might become too powerful politically.

Reason Two: the desire of each service to preserve its traditional independence and autonomy.

Joint Chiefs of Staff

Committee consisting of the uniformed heads of each of the military services (the army, navy, air force and Marine Corps).

Plays key role in national defense planning.

Under the JCS is the Joint Staff consisting of hundreds of officers from each of the four branches of military.

The Services

Each military service is headed by a civilian secretary who is in charge of purchasing, auditing, congressional relations and publiuc affairs, plus a senior military officer who is in charge of discipline, training and representation on the JCS

The Chain of Command

President of the United States> Secretary of Defense> JCS who delegate from there who is in command

Spending for the War on Terrorism

War on Terror is different from other wars. In the past, troops have fought large ground battles against armies. In the War on Terror, troops are engaged with small pockets of insurgents inside countries with friendly relations with the United States.

Spending on the War on Terror is complex because each of the military units operate in a unique way inside the unique situation of this war that is being battled against a group of people, not a country.

Annotated Links:

Global Issues

Graphs and Charts with explaination on how the United States compares with other countries on military spending

Foreign Policy Association

An abundance of sources and articles giving an unbiased view of foreign policy

China's Foreign Policy

A comparative glance at foreign policy in an emerging world power

Related Reading:

Barack Obama fails to win Nato troops he wants for Afghanistan

This current events article illustrates both the topics of this section. It speaks on Barack Obama's individual contact with foreign leaders and his current military policy.

FRQ:

American worldviews have been simplified into four categories: Isolationism, Containment, Disengagement and Human Rights? In a well structured essay explain the differences between the worldviews citing specific events where their application was used.