Chapter
20: Global Policy
Synopsis
This chapter examines the main issues surrounding the
making of foreign policy in the United States. The end of
the Cold War has challenged U.S. decision makers
to reconsider American global policies. The current U.S.
approach is known as the New World Order, yet it remains
in flux as a policy approach.
The U.S. has gradually progressed from an isolationist to
a regional to a global perspective in its foreign policy.
Immediately after World War II, American foreign policy
was dominated by the requirements of the Cold War
and the containment of the Soviet expansionism.
Policies were carried out under the shadow the potential
nuclear destruction and the U.S. relied on
deterrence to keep the balance of power with the
Soviet Union.
The real turning point in Cold War foreign policy
resulted from America's unsuccessful involvement in the
Vietnam War. Generalized public protest against war was
responsible, in part, for the reduced levels of American
involvement in Vietnam. The Nixon Doctrine,
however, hailed a dramatic departure from the past by
advocating détente, a foreign policy aimed
at reducing tensions between East and West. This policy
represented a significant change. Carter also set forth
the Carter Doctrine, which asserted that any
attempt by an outside force to control the Persian Gulf
would be seen as an attack on U.S. vital interests and
would be repelled with force if necessary. Under
President Reagan, a major defense buildup was undertaken
as a means of rolling back perceived Soviet expansion in
Central America and elsewhere. Since the fall of the
Soviet Union, American policies have ranged from
humanitarian assistance in Somalia to military
action in Haiti.
Though policymakers use military and economic tools in
implementing foreign policy, they often disagree on their
relative importance. Questions on defense policy center
around the level of spending and whether the kind of
personnel and equipment chosen by policymakers serves the
defense needs of the country. Today some of the most
intractable problems are not military but economic and
environmental. Economic tools are used to persuade
countries to support the foreign policies of the United
States. Both positive and negative economic inducements
have had limited success in changing the policy
orientation of their targets.
To understand how foreign policy is made in the United
States, we must analyze the institutional setting in
which it takes place. The Constitution clearly puts the
president in charge of foreign policy, but a number of
checks and balances prevent the abuse of this power.
Congress shares the main responsibility in policymaking
by controlling spending and ratifying treaties.
Presidents have found it relatively easy to circumvent
congressional supervision through a variety of mechanisms
although the War Powers Resolution of 1974 sets
some limits on presidential power to use force.
The administration and implementation of foreign policy
falls squarely into the hands of the executive branch.
Since 1947, three organizations have joined the
Department of State in conducting foreign policy: the
Department of Defense, the National Security Council, and
the Central Intelligence Agency. Other domestic agencies
get involved with foreign policy when their interests are
involved. The importance given to each of these
organizations varies with each administration.
In a democracy, public opinion can have a dramatic impact
on foreign policy decisions. Governments are often
confronted with the dilemma of bowing to the public's
short-term interests rather than doing what is required
to protect long-term policy interests. According to the
majoritarian model of democracy, public opinion should be
the fundamental guide for foreign policymakers. The
problem with this view is that the public's views on
foreign policy are not very specific and extremely
volatile. The pluralist model of democracy, on the other
hand, views the countervailing influence of different
interest groups as a stabilizing factor in developing
foreign policies. These policies, however, may not be the
most effective in solving the problems at hand.
The media play an increasingly important role in shaping
public opinion regarding foreign policy. When television
broadcasts of Vietnam influenced public opinion and thus
policy, the Pentagon discovered that censoring reports of
war can help keep decisions in the hands of the military
and avoid public scrutiny. This approach was applied
during the Gulf War in 1991.
Though policymakers use military and economic tools in
implementing foreign policy, they often disagree on their
relative importance. Questions on defense policy center
around the level of spending and whether the kind of
personnel and equipment chosen by policymakers serves the
defense needs of the country. Today some of the most
intractable problems are not military but economic and
environmental. Economic tools are used to persuade
countries to support the foreign policies of the United
States. Both positive and negative economic inducements
have had limited success in changing the policy
orientation of their targets.
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