AP Government Unit 4 – Defense & Foreign policy

Instruments of foreign policy Military: oldest tool  Relatively rarely used because of significant consequences: International scrutiny High financial cost High cost in lives

Instruments of foreign policy Diplomatic: quietest tool  National leaders use occasional summits  In continuous use by ambassadors  Very regimented & formal Diplomatic immunity Persona non grata – diplomat expelled for any reason – recalled to home country

Instruments of foreign policy Economic: becoming most powerful tool  Consulates  Sanctions – “carrot & stick” motivation Incentives convince others to choose what you want them to choose Trade regulations, tariffs, embargoes

International trade Balance of trade  Exports – Imports  US has largest trade deficit in the world US residents buy more foreign goods than we sell to foreign countries Trade deficit shrinks when US economy drops

International organizations United Nations Group of Eight World Trade Organization North American Free Trade Agreement European Union North Atlantic Treaty Organization Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

United Nations (1945) Security Council – legislative group  5 permanent members (“Big 5”) US, UK, France, Russia, China Any of the 5 can veto any resolution  10 nonpermanent members elected regionally to 2-year terms

Security Council vetoes

Group of Eight Annual summit meeting of 8 major economic powers  US, UK, France, Germany  Italy, Japan, Canada, Russia

General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade (GATT) Series of meetings to reduce trade barriers among willing nations Established Most Favored Nation status  Any trade concessions a country makes with one member apply to all members

World Trade Organization (1995) Formed after GATT 1993  Membership had increased significantly after fall of Communist Bloc Permanent org oversees internatl trade Ensures countries follow agreements

North American Free Trade Agreement Signed in 1992, went into effect in 1994 Dropped most trade barriers among Canada, US & Mexico

European Union Political semi-unification of Europe  Nations still sovereign within borders  Free travel within EU More an economic union  Common currency (€)  Little to no trade restrictions  Common destiny (bailouts if necessary)

EU economy vs. rest of world

North Atlantic Treaty Organization Formed in 1949 Mutual defense treaty  All signatory nations vow to help defend if any is invaded by external nation Original goal (Lord Ismay, 1 st Sec Gen): “To keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down”

North Atlantic Treaty Organization Warsaw Pact was the Soviet response to NATO – Eastern Europe Several old Warsaw Pact nations have joined since fall of Communist Bloc

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Cartel of 12 major oil producer countries  Limits production to keep prices inflated Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE Algeria, Angola, Libya, Nigeria Ecuador, Venezuela

Other international actors Multinational corporations Nongovernmental organizations  International Red Cross  International Olympic Committee  FIFA  Médecins Sans Frontières

US Foreign policymakers President Secretary of State & ambassadors National Security Council Congress

History of US Foreign Policy Isolationism  Washington’s Farewell Address – plea for neutrality / no permanent alliances  Monroe Doctrine – stay out of European affairs, they stay out of Americas  World War I – effective permanent end to US isolationism

The Cold War Red Scare  McCarthyism – 1950s fear of communism within US gov – Sen. Joseph McCarthy  Alger Hiss / Julius & Ethel Rosenberg

The Cold War Containment (Domino Theory)  Main US foreign policy goal – keep Soviet and Chinese communism from spreading Korean War – (or 1950-present) Vietnam War –

The Cold War Arms race  Big  in military spending – conventional as well as nuclear weapons Mutually Assured Destruction  Belief that massive # of nukes would deter WW3 – end of mankind possible

The Cold War Brink of war (1960s)  Cuban Missile Crisis Détente (1970s)  Shift from conflict to cooperation  Negotiations between US & USSR

The Cold War Reagan rearmament (1980s)  Massive increase in defense budget  Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”) Use of various space weapons to interdict nuclear weapons on flight from USSR to US  USSR  defense spending in response Probably caused collapse of Soviet economy

End of the Cold War Bush / Clinton (1990s)  USSR collapsed, Germany reunited  Role of US changed – only superpower

War on Terror Bush Doctrine  US can preemptively strike nations that harbor terrorists & WMDs

Nuclear proliferation Only a few countries have verified nuclear capability 5 perm UN Sec Council nations were only nuclear states for many years Fear of “rogue states” causes world pressure against nuclear deployment