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16
C H A P T E R I N Foreign Policy
KEY TERMS
coalition An alliance of nations formed to undertake a foreign policy action, particularly a military
action. A coalition is often a temporary alliance
that dissolves after the action is concluded. 356
Cold War The war of words, warnings, and ideologies between the Soviet Union and the United
States that lasted from the late 1940s through
the early 1990s. 351
colonial empire A group of dependent nations
that are under the rule of a single imperial
power. 350
containment A U.S. policy designed to contain
the spread of communism by offering military
and economic aid to threatened nations. 351
Cuban missile crisis A nuclear stand-off that
occurred in 1962 when the United States learned
that the Soviet Union had placed nuclear
warheads in Cuba, ninety miles off the U.S. coast.
The crisis was defused diplomatically, but it is
generally considered the closest the two Cold
War superpowers came to a nuclear confrontation. 352
détente French word meaning a “relaxation of
tensions.” Détente characterized the relationship between the United States and the Soviet
Union in the 1970s, as the two Cold War rivals
attempted to pursue cooperative dealings and
arms control. 352
deterrence A policy of building up military
strength for the purpose of discouraging (deterring) military attacks by other nations; the policy
of “building weapons for peace” that supported
the arms race between the United States and the
Soviet Union during the Cold War. 352
foreign policy A systematic and general plan that
guides a country’s attitudes and actions toward
the rest of the world. Foreign policy includes all
of the economic, military, commercial, and diplomatic positions and actions that a nation takes in
its relationships with other countries. 347
interventionism Direct involvement by one
country in another country’s affairs. 350
iron curtain A phrase coined by Winston Churchill
to describe the political boundaries between
the democratic countries in Western Europe and
the Soviet-controlled Communist countries in
Eastern Europe. 351
isolationism A political policy of noninvolvement
in world affairs. 349
Marshall Plan A plan providing for U.S. economic
assistance to European nations following World
War II to help those nations recover from the war;
the plan was named after George C. Marshall,
secretary of state from 1947 to 1949. 351
QUIZ
1. True or False: The Department of State
is, in principle, the government agency
most directly involved in foreign
policy.
2. The nation’s founders and early presidents believed that ____ was the best
way to protect American interests.
a. interventionism
b. containment
c. isolationism
d. deterrence
e. mutually assured destruction
c. Iran
d. North Korea
e. Cuba
4. True or False: In 2001, following the
9/11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. military
attacked al Qaeda camps in Iraq and
the ruling Taliban regime that harbored those terrorists.
5. True or False: Israel and its Arab neighbors have had long-running conflicts,
but they have never escalated into war.
3. During the Cuban missile crisis, the
United States and ____ came close to a
nuclear confrontation.
a. the Soviet Union
b. Pakistan
SUMMARY &
OBJECTIVES
LO1 Discuss how foreign policy is
made and identify the key players in this
process. 1 Foreign policy includes all of the
© AP PHOTO/ANDY WONG
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economic, military, commercial, and diplomatic
positions and actions that a nation takes in its relationships with other countries. American foreign
policy has been shaped by the principles of moral idealism and political realism. 2 The president
oversees the military, guides defense policies, and represents the United States to the rest of the world.
The Department of State is responsible for diplomatic relations with other nations and with multilateral
organizations. The Department of Defense establishes and carries out defense policy and protects our
national security. Other agencies, including the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence
Agency, are also involved in U.S. foreign relations. Congress has the power to declare war and the
power to appropriate funds to equip the armed forces and provide for foreign aid. The Senate has the
power to ratify treaties. A few congressional committees are directly concerned with foreign affairs.
LO2 Summarize the history of American foreign policy through the years. 3 Early
U.S. leaders sought to protect American interests through isolationism. After the Spanish-American
War of 1898, which marked the first step toward interventionism, the United States acquired a
colonial empire and was acknowledged as a world power. 4 When World War I broke out, the U.S.
initially adopted a policy of neutrality, and after the war, returned to a policy of isolationism until the
attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. After World War II ended in 1945, the wartime alliance between the
U.S. and the Soviet Union began to deteriorate. Many Americans considered Soviet attempts to spread
Communist systems to other countries a major threat to democracy. The Truman Doctrine and the
Marshall Plan marked the beginning of a policy of containment. 5 During the Cold War, the U.S.
and the Soviet Union engaged in an arms race that was supported by a policy of deterrence, and out
of that policy came the theory of mutually assured destruction (MAD). In 1962, the U.S. and the
LO3 Identify the foreign policy challenges presented by terrorism and the
consequences of the “Bush doctrine” with respect to Iraq. 6 Terrorist attacks have
occurred with increasing frequency during the past three decades. After the attacks on September
11, 2001, the U.S. military, supported by a coalition of allies, attacked al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan
and the ruling Taliban regime that harbored those terrorists. 7 In 2002, President George W. Bush
described Iraq as a regime that sponsored terrorism and that sought to develop weapons of mass
destruction. He enunciated a doctrine under which the United States was prepared to strike
“preemptively” at Iraq. 8 The invasion of Iraq in 2003, in what was a preventive war rather than a
preemptive war, succeeded in deposing the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. 9 In 2005, Iraqi voters
chose a new government in the first free elections for half a century, but Iraq appeared to be drifting
toward interethnic civil war. A “surge” of U.S. troops in 2007 and counterinsurgency tactics helped to
improve the situation. In 2010, U.S. combat forces left Iraq.
LO4 Describe the principal issues dividing the Israelis and the Palestinians and
the solutions proposed by the international community. 10 Following the 1948
Arab-Israeli war, a large number of Palestinians—Arab residents of the Holy Land—were forced into
exile. The aftermath of another war in 1967 gave rise to the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO), a nonstate body committed to armed struggle against Israel. The West Bank of the Jordan
River and the Gaza Strip fell under Israeli control, and the Palestinians living in these areas became an
occupied people. Palestinian terrorist attacks on Israel and Israeli settlements in the occupied territories
have impeded any efforts toward peace. 11 The international community has been in agreement
on several principles for settling the conflict. Lands seized in the 1967 war should be granted to the
Palestinians, who could organize their own independent nation-state there. In turn, the Palestinians
would have to recognize Israel’s right to exist and take concrete steps to guarantee Israel’s security.
In 1993, Israel and the PLO met officially for the first time in Oslo, Norway. A major result of the Oslo
Accords was the establishment of a Palestinian Authority, under Israeli control, on the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. Further attempts to reach a settlement collapsed in acrimony. 12 In 2007, Gaza was taken
over by Hamas, a radical Islamist party that refuses to recognize Israel. The Palestinian Authority again
became an effective government on the West Bank, however, and in 2010, peace talks were restarted.
LO5 Outline some of the actions taken by the United States to curb the threat
of nuclear weapons. 13 The pursuit of nuclear technology in North Korea and Iran is of major
concern to the United States. Neither weapons inspections nor talks that have included China, Japan,
North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and the United States have resolved the issue of North Korea’s nuclear
ambitions. North Korea conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, and in 2009 it tested a long-range
missile as well. 14 Iran has made considerable progress in many aspects of its nuclear program,
and, like North Korea, has been openly hostile to the U.S. The United Nations has imposed sanctions
on Iran in an attempt to curb its nuclear ambitions. In 2009, a round of talks involving Britain, China,
France, Germany, Iran, Russia, and the United States was begun to discuss Iran’s nuclear program. Some
observers see the talks as a way for the Iranians to play for time as they develop their nuclear capabilities.
LO6 Discuss China’s emerging role as a world leader. 15 China may be destined to
challenge American global supremacy. China has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world
and a population of 1.3 billion. Congress has granted China normal trade relations status, and
many Americans are concerned that low-cost imports from China are preventing the U.S. economy
from enjoying a vigorous recovery. Although China has not shown ambitions to acquire more territory
or become militarily aggressive, it has expressed a desire to take control of the island of Taiwan, a former
Chinese province that has functioned since 1949 as if it were an independent nation.
Find more practice tests and study tools
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Monroe Doctrine A U.S. policy, announced in
1823 by President James Monroe, that the United
States would not tolerate foreign intervention
in the Western Hemisphere, and in return, the
United States would stay out of European affairs. 349
Moral idealism In foreign policy, the belief that
the most important goal is to do what is right.
Moral idealists think that it is possible for nations
to cooperate as part of a rule-based community. 347
mutually assured destruction (MAD) A
phrase referring to the assumption, on which the
policy of deterrence was based, that if the forces
of two nations are equally capable of destroying
each other, neither nation will take a chance on
war. 352
neoconservatism A philosophy of foreign policy
based on moral idealism. Neoconservatives
support the use of economic and military power
to bring democracy and human rights to other
countries. 356
neutrality A position of not being aligned with
either side in a dispute or conflict, such as a
war. 350
normal trade relations (NTR) status A trade
status granted through an international treaty
by which each member nation must treat other
members at least as well as it treats the country
that receives its most favorable treatment. This
status was formerly known as most-favorednation status. 362
Oslo Accords The first agreement signed
between Israel and the PLO; led to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied
territories. 359
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
An organization formed in 1964 to represent the
Palestinian people. The PLO has a long history
of terrorism but for some years has functioned
primarily as a political party. 358
political realism In foreign policy, the belief that
nations are inevitably selfish, and that we should
seek to protect our national security regardless of
moral arguments. 347
preemptive war A war launched by a nation
to prevent an imminent attack by another nation. 356
preventive war A war launched by a nation to
prevent the possibility that another nation might
attack at some point in the future; not supported
by international law. 356
Soviet bloc The group of Eastern European
nations that fell under the control of the Soviet
Union following World War II. 350
weapons of mass destruction Chemical,
biological, or nuclear weapons that can inflict
massive casualties. 356
Quiz Answers: 1. True; 2. c; 3. a; 4. False; 5. False
Soviet Union came close to a nuclear confrontation during the Cuban missile crisis. The collapse of
the Soviet Union in 1991 altered the framework and goals of U.S. foreign policy.