Making Foreign Policy
Seventh Grade Civics
Making Foreign Policy
The President and Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy-a nation’s overall plan for dealing with other nations. Why would a nation have a foreign policy? What is America’s primary goal in this process? It is national security, the ability to keep the country safe from attack or harm. No government can effectively meet the goals such as health care or cleaning up the environment if the nation is under attack.
International trade is another key goal. Trade with other nations is crucial to our economic prosperity. American businesses need markets for their products and jobs for American workers. Many of our manufacturers have an international structure. Businesses such as Coca-Cola, General Electric, Chrysler, market products in countries outside of our influence. There might be automobiles designed for a certain nation’s market that has Chrysler or General Motors logos. McDonalds may design extra value meals with main entrees that cater to a specific nation. There are 119 nations where you could find the Golden Arches. You won’t find the same menu in each of these places as you find at your local McDonalds. For instance, in Japan you can get a Filet o-Shrimp sandwich. In Egypt you can get the McArabia Grilled Kofta, two grilled kofta patties with lettuce, tomatoes and tahini sauce, folded in Arabic bread. These “American” corporations work hard at pleasing the localities where they operate.
Making Foreign Policy
The President and Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy-a nation’s overall plan for dealing with other nations. Why would a nation have a foreign policy? What is America’s primary goal in this process? It is national security, the ability to keep the country safe from attack or harm. No government can effectively meet the goals such as health care or cleaning up the environment if the nation is under attack.
International trade is another key goal. Trade with other nations is crucial to our economic prosperity. American businesses need markets for their products and jobs for American workers. Many of our manufacturers have an international structure. Businesses such as Coca-Cola, General Electric, Chrysler, market products in countries outside of our influence. There might be automobiles designed for a certain nation’s market that has Chrysler or General Motors logos. McDonalds may design extra value meals with main entrees that cater to a specific nation. There are 119 nations where you could find the Golden Arches. You won’t find the same menu in each of these places as you find at your local McDonalds. For instance, in Japan you can get a Filet o-Shrimp sandwich. In Egypt you can get the McArabia Grilled Kofta, two grilled kofta patties with lettuce, tomatoes and tahini sauce, folded in Arabic bread. These “American” corporations work hard at pleasing the localities where they operate.
A third goal is promoting world peace. Even a war far from the United States can disrupt trade and endanger U.S. national security. McDonalds, for one, has lost their opportunity to exist in some countries due to differences in political stance of the United States with that country. When other nations are at peace, the United States runs no risk of being drawn into a foreign war. In these situations, the business actions of these corporations can exist and succeed.
A fourth goal of foreign policy is to promote democracy around the world. Promoting democracy and basic human rights encourages peace and helps protect our own national security.
The President of the United States is in the position to make American foreign policy. Americans and others in the world look to the president to represent our country in foreign affairs. The president and assistants work with a large foreign-policy bureaucracy in the executive branch. It includes the State Department, the Defense Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Council. These agencies serve the president in making foreign affairs. They give the president valuable information and carry out the president’s decision around the world. The president must choose between conflicting advice from these agencies.
The Constitution divides the power to conduct foreign and military affairs between the president and Congress. The president is chief diplomat and commander in chief, but congress has the power to declare war, to prohibit certain military actions, and to spend or not spend money for defense. The Constitution does not clearly spell out how the legislative and executive branches can use their powers. There has always been competition between Congress and the president over who controls foreign policy.
One branch or another has dominated our government focus at various times in history. Congress lost much of its control over foreign policy. The president gained that control. The late 1960s and early 1970s was a time of widespread dislike of the Vietnam War led Congress to try to get back some of that power. It was the efforts of President George W. Bush in 2001 that brought that emphasis back to the office of the presidency.
Tools of Foreign Policy
The president and Congress have several methods to influence other nations and carry out American foreign policy. These methods include creating treaties, appointing ambassadors, directing foreign aid, international trade, and military forces.
The president and Congress have several methods to influence other nations and carry out American foreign policy. These methods include creating treaties, appointing ambassadors, directing foreign aid, international trade, and military forces.
Creating Treaties and Executive Agreements Formal agreements between the governments of two or more countries are known as treaties. Some are based on defense: nations that become allies agree to support each other in case of attack. One of the most important treaties for the United States is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO is a mutual defense treaty between the United States, Canada, and the European nations. The Senate must approve a treaty by a two-thirds vote. The president can bypass the Senate by making an executive agreement. This is an agreement between the president and the leader of another country. Most agreements deal with fairly routine, normal matters.
Appointing Ambassadors An official representative of a country’s government is an ambassador. The president appoints about 150 ambassadors, who must be approved by the Senate. These ambassadors are sent only to those countries where the United States recognizes, or accepts, the legal existence of a government. If the government of a certain country is thought to hold power illegally, the president can refuse to recognize that government. In that situation, no American ambassador will be sent to that country, and that country will not be allowed to send an ambassador to the United States.
Foreign Aid This is money, food, military assistance, or other supplies given to help other countries. One of this nation’s greatest foreign aid triumphs came after the Second World War with the Marshall Plan. This policy was to help Western Europe rebuild after that war.
International Trade As the leader of a great economic power, the president can make agreements with other nations about what products may be traded and the rules for such trading. Sometimes trade measures include trade sanctions, or efforts to punish another nation by imposing trade barriers. Another tool used is the embargo, which is an agreement among a group of nations that prohibits them all from trading with a target nation. Congress takes the lead in other areas, like tariffs (taxes on imported goods) and membership in international trade groups, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Military Force As commander in chief of the armed forces, presidents may use the military to carry out some foreign-policy decisions. This is a powerful tool of foreign policy, but one that must be used with great care. Presidents throughout history have made use of this power. President George Washington summoned troops to put down the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. President Bill Clinton ordered cruise missiles to be launched at terrorist facilities in Afghanistan and Sudan in 1998. In 2003 President George W. Bush ordered the American armed forces to invade Iraq and remove their harsh dictator Saddam Hussein.