1. Foreign Policy

2. U.S. Foreign Policy (typical view)
The strategies or goals that America uses to guide its relations with other nations usually comprising five elements (standard view):
National Security
Free and Open Trade (Capitalism!)
Democratic Governments
World Peace
Concern for Humanity

3. U.S. Foreign Policy (interest view)
A strategy or planned course of action developed by decision-makers of a state, which aims to achieve specific goals defined in terms of national interest comprising several elements.
National Interest – the fundamental objective and ultimate determinant that guides the decision-makers of a state in making foreign policy.
Self-preservation
Independence (sovereignty)
Territorial Integrity
Military Security
Economic Well-Being
(?) Democracy, human rights, freedom

4. U.S. Foreign Policy Approaches
Realist/Idealist Dichotomy – the alternative approaches in forming foreign policy
Realist: fundamentally empirical and pragmatic
Idealist: focuses more in abstract principles involving international norms, legal codes, and moral/ethical values
Revisionist – a foreign policy which seeks to alter the existing international territorial, ideological, or power distribution to its advantage (expansionist and acquisitive).
Status Quo – a foreign policy which seeks to maintain the above same (conservative and “defensive”)

5. Evaluating U.S. Foreign Policy
Foreign policy actions are difficult to evaluate because:
Short-term advantages or disadvantages must be weighed in relation to long-term consequences.
Their impact of other nations is difficult to evaluate.
Most policies result in a mixture of successes and failures that are hard to disentangle.

6. U.S. Foreign Policy Process
Translating national interest into specific goals/objectives.
Determining the national and domestic situational factors related to policy goals.
Analyzing the state’s capabilities for achieving desired results.
Developing a plan or strategy to link capabilities with goals.
Undertaking the requisite actions.
Periodically reviewing and evaluating progress toward achievement of the desired results.

7. U.S. Foreign Policy Process
Intelligence (information gathering)
Spies, corporate secrets, satellites, news, blogs
Capability Analysis
What is our appreciation of their capabilities
Decision-Makers: those individuals who exercise the powers of making and implementing foreign policy decisions
Opinion Elites
General Public
Cabinet Secretaries
Bureaucracy
“Groupthink”

8. Patterns of Power
The influence and control exercised by one nation over other nations
Unilateralism
Alliances
Collective Security
World Government

9. Common Terms and Historical Context
Monroe Doctrine
Gunboat Diplomacy
Dollar Diplomacy (Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson)
Isolationism/Internationalism
Good Neighbor Policy (FDR)
Marshall Plan
Truman Doctrine
Military-Industrial (Congressional)Complex - Eisenhower

10. Realism vs. Idealism in Foreign Policy