FOREIGN POLICY OF

MAJOR POWERS
AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY
 CONTENTS

• History of US FP(isolationism, cold war and post cold war)

• American fp objectives
• American FP
• American FP challenges in post cold war era
• Foreign Policy issues:
• War on terror, Iraq war, North Korea, Arab israel conflict
FOUNDING PRINCIPALS OF US FOREIGN
POLICY
• Geopolitical isolationism and unilateralism
• Fedaralist vs anti federalist
• U.S. Reluctance to Ratify International Treaties
 GEOPOLITICAL ISOLATIONISM AND UNILATERALISM

• unilateralism or neutrality to capture the sentiment that the

U.S. should selectively engage with foreign partners when
national interests are at stake.
• Military political and military alliance based on national
interests
• Opted isolationism to preserve the state interests
 MONROE DOCTRINE

• The doctrine introduced by President Monroe in 1823. This

doctrine initiated the isolationist foreign policy phase of the
United States. The aim was to insulate the US from the rest of
the world, and make the internal landscape more prosperous.
• isolationist” policy, the US guaranteed to not to interfere in
European issues but at the same time it wanted the European
states to keep out of “American issues”
 FEDARALIST VS ANTI FEDERALIST

• Federalists supported a central government with broad powers

to manage commerce, equip a national army, and manage
disputes between states
• On the other side of the debate, the Antifederalists sought to
limit the powers of the central government. They were worried
that a strong national authority run by a small group of elites
or aristocrats could abuse citizens’ rights
THEORAICAL PERSPECTIVE TO US FP

• Second, U.S. foreign policy tradition is aligned with realist

sentiment, not liberal idealist aspirations. Realism contends
that the international community of nations revolves around a
state-centric structure in which national sovereignty is more
influential than any liberal collective government entity.
• the U.S. system is politically decentralized and characterized
by limited federal government authorities over both states and
individuals. States have an huge amount of political and
economic independence
• domestic policy issues
• All states practice different domestic policies
• Treaties approved by the President and U.S. Senate would be
superior to national and state laws but inferior to the
Constitution.
• U.S. foreign policy tradition is aligned with realist sentiment,
not liberal idealist aspirations. Realism contends that the
international community of nations revolves around a state-
centric structure in which national sovereignty is more
influential than any liberal collective government entity.
• foreign policy is a multi-faceted topic of which, for example,
human rights and democracy promotion is only one of a
number of important interests. Trade and security
arrangements with other nations are critically important points
of negotiation
 MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO US FP

• Preservation of democracy, avoid war (particularly in war-

prone Europe during this period), warned of the costs of
maintaining a large and expensive standing military force, and
sought to restrict the executive branch’s authority on military
decisions. (Thomas Jefferson, President from 1801-1809)
 US EXCEPTIONALISM

• A guiding sentiment during the early years of American

expansion was the sense that the U.S. was a special or an
“exceptional” example of democracy and individual rights.
• The distinctive rights culture enshrined in the Constitution –
freedom of speech, religion, and assembly – represented the
national political identity and served as an example of human
dignity and democracy for other countries to emulate. To the
earliest generations of American citizens, the country’s
democratic system was a model for others to follow, a nation
with a set of rights unique in human history, a society where one
can be upwardly mobile regardless of class or wealth bracket.
 PRESIDENTIAL DOCTRINE

• Presidential doctrines are another factor for articulating U.S.

foreign policy
• foreign policy priorities of a President,.
• Most presidential doctrines seem to be focused around
overseas national security interests
• Obama, trump, joe biden
 US EXPANSIONISM

• Spread of democracy and capitalism

• Divide and rule policy
• Containing Germany in world war 1 and two
• Containing russia in cold war
• Engaging in middle east in war on terror
 FOREIGN POLICY OBJECTIVES

Security, Prosperity and creation of better world

• the protection of the U.S. and its citizens,
• the maintenance of access to key resources and markets,
• the preservation of a balance of power in the world, and
• the protection of human rights and democracy.
 ACCESS TO KEY RESOURCES

• The second main goal of U.S. foreign policy is to ensure the

nation maintains access to key resources and markets across
the world. Resources include natural resources, such as oil,
and economic resources
 PRESERVATION OF BOP

•  third main goal is the preservation of a balance of power in

the world. A balance of power means no one nation or region
is much more powerful militarily than are the countries of the
rest of the world. The achievement of a perfect balance of
power is probably not possible, but general stability, or
predictability in the operation of governments, strong
institutions, and the absence of violence within and between
nations may be. For much of U.S. history, leaders viewed
world stability through the lens of Europe.
PROTECTION OF HR AND DEMOCRACY

• The fourth main goal of U.S. foreign policy is the protection

of human rights and democracy. The payoff of stability that
comes from other U.S. foreign policy goals is peace and
tranquility.
 WHO MAKES AMERICAN FOREIGN
POLICY?
•
Who are the major players that make, influence, and
implement American foreign policy? What roles do these
various actors play and how do they interact with one another?
• The president and his top advisers are the principal architects of U.S.
foreign policy, though other actors (e.g. Congress, the courts, parties,
interest groups, and trade associations) are also important to foreign
policy making.
• The president shapes much of foreign policy; the president is
commander-in-chief, who negotiates treaties and receives foreign
ambassadors, nominates America’s ambassadors to other countries, and
enters into executive agreements.
• The foreign policy bureaucracy includes the departments of State, Defense,
Treasury, and Homeland Security, along with the Joint Chiefs, the National
Security Council, and the Central Intelligence Agency; the heads of these various
departments and agencies serve as key foreign policy advisers to presidents. Since 9/11,
these various institutional actors have played increasingly prominent roles in American
foreign policy making
• Congress has the constitutional power to declare war and the Senate must approve
treaties; the most relevant congressional actors in the foreign policy arena are the
Senate Foreign Relations, Armed Services, and Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs committees, and the House Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, and Armed
Services committees.
• Interest groups—economic, ethnic or national-origin, and human rights and “green”
groups—are increasingly important players in foreign policy making.
• The president dominates foreign policy making; other than the president, the influence
of the players varies by issue. During times of crisis, presidential dominance is even
greater and decision making involves the fewest players.
INSTRUMENT FOR MODERN AMERICAN
FP
• Diplomacy is the representation of a government to other
foreign governments to promote national values or interests by
peaceful means.
• Although the Rogers Act of 1924 established the initial framework for a
professional foreign service staff in America, it was not until World War
II and the Foreign Service Act of 1946 that America developed a
professionalized diplomatic corps.
• Given the high stakes of foreign policy and the president’s clear
responsibility for success or failure, many presidents are reluctant to
entrust major responsibilities to diplomats in the State Department.
• In 2008, both parties’ presidential candidates criticized the Bush
administration for failing in the area of international diplomacy.
• The United Nations, an organization of nations founded in
1945, serves as an institutional channel for negotiation and a
means of settling international disputes peaceably.
• The UN General Assembly is the supreme body of the organization and
consists of one representative of each of the 192 member states; the UN
Security Council, of which the United States is a permanent member, is
the executive committee of the United Nations.
• The United Nations can be a useful forum for international discussions
and multilateral action.
• The International Monetary Structure, including the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund, were created in 1944 to stabilize the world economy mostly by
providing loans to countries.
• Through economic aid and, sometimes, the use of economic sanctions, the United States
affects the actions of other countries by providing incentives to encourage some types of
behavior and disincentives to dissuade countries from engaging in undesirable behavior.
• After World War II, the United States stepped up efforts to engage in collective security
agreements with other countries; multilateral treaties such as the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) and bilateral treaties with individual countries are employed to
solidify relationships and maintain security.
• Military force is the most visible instrument of foreign policy, and the United States now
has a large, prepared standing military and a massive build-up of weaponry, both of
which it uses to deter foreign attacks and otherwise influence international outcomes.
•.
• Sometimes international disputes are subject to arbitration in international tribunals.
• The International Monetary Structure, including the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund, were created in 1944 to stabilize the world economy mostly by
providing loans to countries.
• Through economic aid and, sometimes, the use of economic sanctions, the United States
affects the actions of other countries by providing incentives to encourage some types of
behavior and disincentives to dissuade countries from engaging in undesirable behavior.
• After World War II, the United States stepped up efforts to engage in collective security
agreements with other countries; multilateral treaties such as the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) and bilateral treaties with individual countries are employed to
solidify relationships and maintain security.
• Military force is the most visible instrument of foreign policy, and the United States now
has a large, prepared standing military and a massive build-up of weaponry, both of
which it uses to deter foreign attacks and otherwise influence international outcomes.
• Sometimes international disputes are subject to arbitration in international tribunals