Module 2: US Foreign Policy Apparatus and the National Interest Flashcards
What is the definition of Foreign Policy? Examples?
Actions (often public statements) undertaken by the US federal government towards some foreign audience (e.g. deployment of military forces, signing of agreement with another state)
What are the different components of foreign policy?
- Beliefs
- Capabilities
- Interests
- Actions (behavior)
What is the definition of a Belief? Examples?
Organized ideas that foreign actors have about the content of American interests and their expectations about future American actions (e.g. during the Cold War, peace rested on the stability of beliefs about deterrent threats for both the US and USSR)
What is the definition of Capabilities? Examples?
Power resources that governments can use to realize their interests (e.g. wealth, military assets, strong domestic support)
What is the definition of Interests? Examples?
What states want (e.g. territory, wealth, nuclear weapons, more democracies)
What are the main components of foreign policy bureaucracy in the US? What are their main responsibilities?
The organization of the executive branch influences the type of foreign policies produced
The following key agencies are tasked with implementing foreign policy:
- State Department - responsible for day-to-day interactions between governments
- Defense Department - manages the armed forces
- Treasury Department + Federal Reserve - manages coordination of monetary policy
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) + Directorate of National Intelligence (DNI) - gathers intelligence which shapes beliefs of our own leaders with respect to what they think other governments are going to do
- National Security Counselor/Advisor - coordinates activities of all these bureaucracies of policy making
What is the definition of National Interest?
A set of goals possessed by the US that guide/motivate policy, help to define the collective identity of what America is, and set the scope of conflict or cooperation with other states in the international system
What was President George W. Bush’s 2002 national security strategy?
Written post-9/11 to outline policies the US was willing to take to fight Al’ Qaeda and the war against terrorism (predatory document to the Iraq War)
Served as justification for the war against Afghanistan, the upcoming war against Iraq, and a clear warning to Iran and N Korea
What are its central components/arguments of Bush’s 2002 national security strategy?
- The governments responsibility to protect the homeland from external threats
- Promoting freedom around the world in the form of democracy
- How the threat environment has changed and increased the need for military force
- Broad outlines of policy the Bush administration will pursue to meet these goals
- Fostering growth in combat of poverty (breeding ground for terrorism)
- The importance of NATO in American foreign policy
How does President Trump see the nature of the security threat presented by terrorism?
Trump sees terrorism as the primary threat facing the US
How does Trump’s counter-terrorism strategy differ from President Bush?
Trump’s approach focuses on restricting immigration to prevent potential terrorists from entering the US (i.e. extreme vetting to prevent immigration from 7 majority Muslim countries)
Trump is skeptical of military intervention and regime change (tactics used by Bush), believing such interventions would make chaos worse and encourage the growth of radical Islam terrorists
Wants to decrease the US military footprint in the Middle East
What is the purpose of foreign policy?
To promote interests behind US foreign policy by shaping beliefs, capabilities, interests, and actions (behaviors) or foreign entities
What are the 3 components of foreign policy?
- Political, economic, social interests motivating US foreign policy actions
- Parts of the US government tasked with defining the interests and implementing policies designed to achieve those interests
- Actions and statements by US officials that make up the content of US foreign policy
