Midterm Flashcards
questions of foreign policy strategy
what the national interest is and how best ot achieve it
questions of foreign policy politics
which institutions and actors within the American political system play what roles and how much influence they have
Four P’s
Power, peace, prosperity, and principles
Power
the key requirement for the most basic goals of foreign policy: self-defense and the preservation of national independence and territory
Realism
the school of international relations theory that most emphasizes the objective of power
Four points for realists
1) States pursue interests, not peace
2) Political and military power remain major currencies of power
3) Economic power < Military power
4) Idealistic principles are important, but not more important than military power
Foreign policy strategies that follow realist thought are largely _____.
Coercive
The ultimate coercive strategy is _____.
war
Deterrence
Prevention of war by fear of retaliation
Military interventions
Uses of military force in a more limited fashion
Self-defense
Military action taken in response to an attack
Preemptive war
Used against an imminent threat
Preventative war
Used when the threat is less than imminent, but you have a strong basis for assessing the threat will become greater
Alliances
Associations of states for collective security of other mutual interests
military assistance
lending weapons, advisers, financing, and other forms of aid
Coercive diplomacy
Measures used to exert power and influence without military force
Economic sanctions
Restrictions on trade, finance, and/or other economic relations, imposed by one country to exert power or influence over another country
Covert action
Secret operations of intelligence agencies conducted to defend national interests
Diplomacy
The process by which states conduct official relations, most often through ambassadors or other diplomatic representatives
International Institutionalism
A school of international relations theory that emphasizes both the possibility and value of international institutions and other forms of cooperation for reducing the chances of war and other conflict
International Institutionalists value ____ more than realists.
cooperation among nations
Institutionalists stress _____ over military and other coercive means
diplomatic means
Five types of international institutions
1) global security
2) economic
3) international legal
4) policy area
5) regional
“Peace broker”
Role US has played in wars and conflicts in which it has not been a direct party
Foreign policies motivated by the pursuit of prosperity are those that give high priority to that national interest defined principally in _______ terms.
economic
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
Established in 1944 as a mechanism for managing trade disputes so as to prevent their escalation to trade wars
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
The global organization that oversees the international monetary system, promoted international monetary cooperation and exchange rate stability, and provides resources to help members in balance of payments difficulties or to assist with poverty reduction
imperialism
the subordination of a weaker state by a stronger political entity, frequently through conquest of territorial occupation
neocolonialism
extensive power exercised by one country over another through less direct control than colonialism
What is the international relations theory attached to prosperity?
Economism, Imperialism
Democratic idealism
An international relations theory that emphasizes Principles and is rooted in two central tenets: in a trade-off, “right” is to be chosen over “might,” and in the long run, “right” makes for “might”
Democratic peace
An international relations theory that asserts that promoting democracy also promotes peace because democracies do not go to war against each other.
soft power
cultural attractiveness and reputation
What is the international relations theory attached to power?
Realism
Partisanship
When the same political party controls both the White House and Congress
Confrontation
When policy positions have been in substantial conflict
Institutional competition
Conflicts focused less on the substance of policy than on institutional prerogatives and the balance between executive discretion and congressional oversight
Cooperation
when Congress has either concurred with or deferred to the president and a largely common, coordinated policy has been pursued
Constructive compromise
When the two branches have bridged conflicts and come to a policy that proved better than either’s origial position
Constructive compromise
When the two branches have bridged conflicts and come to a policy that proved better than either’s original position
Constructive compromise
When the two branches have bridged conflicts and come to a policy that proved better than either’s original position
Which two sets of congressional committees handle most of the work related to war powers issues?
1) Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee
2) Senate and House Armed Services Committees
What does ABM mean?
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
What is the NSC?
National Security Council
Key congressional committees involved in trade policy
1) House Ways and Means Committee
2) Senate Finance Committee
War powers
The constitutional power given to the president to serve as commander and chief and given to Congress to declare war and provide for the common defense.
Power of the Purse
Power of Congress to direct influence over decision about how much to spend and what to spend it on
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
Treaty building on prior limited bands that now seeks to ban all test of nuclear weapons
Executive agreements
International commitments made by the president that do not require a two-thirds senate majority and usually do not require congressional approval
Declaratory commitments
foreign policy commitments derived from speeches and statements by presidents, such as the Monroe Doctrine
List the types of economic interest groups
Multinational corporations (MNCs) and other businesses, labor unions, consumers, and other groups whose lobby-ing is motivated by how policy effects economic interests
Identity Groups
Motivated by ethnic or religious identities
Political issue subgroups
1) advocacy groups
2) groups with political-ideological perspectives
3) broad movements, like antiwar
Substantive legislation
Policy-Specific legislation that spells out what the details of what foreign policy should or should not be
Procedural legislation
Process-specific legislation that spells out the procedures and structures through which foreign policy will be made
Influence of Public Opinion on Foreign Policy
1) Political culture and ideology
2) Anticipatory parameter setting
3) Centripetal pull
4) Impact on Congress
5) Effect on diplomatic negotiations
Iran-contra affair
A secret deal worked out by the Reagan admin that sold weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of hostages in Lebanon
Four Freedoms
1) freedom of religion
2) freedom of speech
3) freedom from fear
4) freedom from want
groupthink
a concept from social psychology that refers to the pressures within small groups for unanimity that work against individual critical thinking
national security adviser
Appointed by the president as the principle national security policy adviser within the White House
interagency process
The process of the executive branch policy process the brings together the State Department, Defense Department, and other relevant executive branch officials, usually chaired by the National Security Council staff
bureaucratic politics
The way in which the positions of executive-branch departments and agencies on an issue depend on the interest of that particular department or agency
interservice rivalry
Tensions among the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines over budgets, strategy, and other defense policy matters
US Trade Representative (USTR)
The presidents principle trade advisor, negotiation, and spokesperson on trade issues
Secretary of Treasury
The head of the Department of Treasury and one of the presidents principle economic advisers
Export-Import Bank of the United States
The government bank that provides credit and other financing for foreign customers to buy American exports
Trade and Development Agency
An agency that helps American companies put other business plans and feasibility studies for new export opportunities
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
The government corporation that provides insurance and financing for foreign investments by US companies that will create jobs back home and increase exports
Administrative trade remedies
Actions by executive-branch agencies when relief from import competition
International Trade Commission (ITC)
An independent regulatory agency with six members all appointed by the president that rules of certain cases of competition from imports
nongovernmental organizations
An unofficial, nonprofit organization
Spanish-American War
War in 1898 between Spain and the US in which the US gained dominance over Cuba and took the Philippines as a colony, and that also marked the beginning of the emergence of the US as a world power
Russian Revolution
The series of revolutions in 1917 agains the Czarist government which led to the creation of the Soviet Union and the world’s first communist state
Great Depression
The worldwide economic depression that began with the crash of the US stock market on Oct 29, 1929 (Black Tuesday) and soon affected nearly every country in the world
isolationist
Engaging in a foreign policy in which the country minimized its involvement in world affairs
World War I
1914-1918
Triple Entente vs. Triple Alliance
World War II
1939-1945
Ludlow Amendment
A constitutional amendment proposed in 1938 that would have required a national referendum before any decision to go to war.
American exceptionalism
the belief that the united states has a uniqueness and special virtue that ground out foreign policy in Principles much more than the foreign policies of other countries
Atlantic Charter
A joint statement by FDR and Churchill in August 1941 in which they describes the principles and values that should define the post-WWII world
Alien and Sedation Acts
Legislations that silences opponents of the war with France by limiting their freedom of speech and of the press
free trade
trade between countries without tariffs or other batters from gov intervention
Cold War
Military tension between Soviet Union and the US
Baruch Plan
A US proposal to the UN Atomic Energy Commission for establishing international control of nuclear weapons; rejected by the Soviet Union
Compellence
The act of getting another state to take a particular action that it otherwise would not
Containment
A Cold War doctrine whereby the United States would counter any attempt by the Soviet Union to expand its sphere of influence o to spread communism beyond its borders
Manifest destiny
A term coined in 1845 that refers to the right claimed by the US to continental expansion
Department of Defense
Combining Departments of War and the Navy, and include the Air Force and Marines, headed by the Secretary of Defense
Bay of Pigs
US invasion of Cuba in 1961 to overthrow Fidel Castro; failed
Platt Amendment
An amendment attached to the Cuban constitution to protect US special interests in Cuba
Mexican revolution
Civil way in Mexico that began in 1910, caused by corruption and social unrest, and in which the US intervene militarily
Roosevelt Corollary
1904 - US as the international police power to intervene in Latin American affairs
Open Door Policy
Demand that the US would not be closed out of sphered of trade and influence in China
War of 1812
The way between the US and Britain along the Canadian border, the Atlantic coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and on the oceans; british forces burned the White House
Mexican War
War between the US and Mexico, 1846-48, that focused on the annexation of Texas, which had declared its independence from Mexico 1836
Pearl Harbor
US naval base in Hawaii; site of surprise attack on Dec 7, 1941
Japanese-American internments
inprisionment of 120,000 Japanese American during WWII
League of Nations
An international institution created after WWI as a result of the Treaty of Versailles.
Failures: US nonmembership and weakness of design
Red Scare
1919-20 - Wilsonian admin, led by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, grossly overrated to fear of internal subversion linked to world communist w head handed repression and blatant disregard for civil liberties
Marshall Plan
The first major US Cold War foreign-aid program, for the reconstruction of Western Europe after WWII and during the Cold War
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Military commitment to keeping US troops in Europe and defense of European allies if attacked
protectionism
An economic policy of restricting trade to protect business in one country from foreign competition, often through the sue of tariffs
Smoot-Hawley
A protectionist tariff of 1930 that had disastrous effects, including contributing to the Great Depression
Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act (RTAA)
1934 - delegating to the president authority to cut tariffs by as much as 50% if the count negotiate reciprocal cuts with other countries
Laid the basis for a fundamental shift away from protectionism and toward free trade
Massive retaliation
A nuclear strategy doctrine pursued during the Eisenhower administration whereby the United States threatened to resort to nuclear weapons to counter any Soviet challenge anywhere of any kind
Joint Chiefs of Staff
Established in WWII to coordinate the military services
McCarthyism
Widespread public accusation of procommunist activity that dropped the country in the early 1950s, based on little evidence and often in violation of civil liberties
Munich analogy
Reference to the negotiations in Munich leading up to WWII; invokes the need to confront dictators and aggressors, using force if necessary
guns and butter strategy
President Johnson’s attempt to pursue major domestic social programs while also escalating the Vietnam War, which caused the federal budget deficit to grow and led to stagnation
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Passed by Congress in 1964 in response to alleged North Vietnamese attacks on US naval ships; gave pres authority to use military w/o a declaration of war by Congress
Truman Doctrine
Us commitment proclaimed in March 1947 to aid Greece and Turkey against Soviet and Soviet-assisted threats
key basis for containment
Helsinki Accords of 1975
Gave Soviets that recognition they wanted to territorial borders in central and Eastern Europe, but also established human rights and other democratic values as the basic tenets that the members agreed to respect
Nixon shock
President Nixon’s announcement on August 15, 1971 that the US was unilaterally devaluing the dollar, suspending its convertibility to gold, and imposing a 10% special tariff on imports
Mayaguez incident
A 1975 incident involving the limited use of force against Cambodia to rescue an American merchant ship and its crew
perestroika (restructuring)
changes to the Soviet economy , allowing for more open markets with some private enterprise and foreign investments
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I)
Negotiations during the 1970s to limit US and Soviet nuclear weapons. SALT I was signed and ratified during the Nixon admin.
SALT II
Follow-up agreement to limit US and Soviet nuclear weapons; never finalized amid controversies over center and then the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
OPEC
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
Gov org that provides insurance and financing for foreign investments made by US companies
liberal international economic order (LIEO)
The relatively open, market-based, free-trade system created after WWII with a minimum of tariffs and other government-intitated trade batteries, and with international economic relations worked out through negotiations
Vietnam War
1965-1975 Major defeat for the US
War Powers Resolution (WPR) of 1973
An act seeking to limit presidential war powers by tightening requirements for consulting with Congress; based on lessons of Vietnam but has not had much actual impact
Watergate
Political scandal which began with the arrest of five men for breaking into Democratic party offices at the Watergate complex in June 1972. The resulting investigation revealed that President Nixon and his cronies had lied and committed crimes, and led to Nixon’s resignation.
Jackson-Vanik Amendment
Passed by Congress in 1974, linking most-favored-nation status for the Soviet Union to a prescribed increase in emigration visas for Soviet Jews
International Trade Commission
An independent regulatory agency with six members, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, all appointed by the president that tules on entrain cases of competition from imports
Tokyo Round
A round of GATT global trade negotiations due the 1970 that not only lowered tariffs buy also brought down some non tariff barriers - various governmental policies and practices that discredited against imports and thus impeded free trade
Weinberger criteria
Six criteria laid out by Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger in Nov 1984 that set the threshold for when and how to use military force; promoted by failure of American troops in Lebanon
nuclear utilization targeting strategy
In contrast to MAD
Argued that if only the US has the capacity to fight a limited nuclear war, deterrence would be strengthened
nuclear freeze movement
A movement during the early 1980s based on widespread fear that the nuclear buildup had gone too far
