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Chapter 17
Foreign and Defense
Policymaking
American Government:
Policy & Politics,
Eighth Edition
TANNAHILL
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2006
In This Chapter We Will Cover:
• The history of American foreign
policy
• The international community
• The means and ends of American
foreign and defense policy
• American foreign policy after 9/11
• American defense policy
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The History of American
Foreign Policy
• Periods of U.S. Foreign Policy
– From Isolationism to Internationalism
• For most of the first century of the nation’s
history, the U.S. avoided what President
Washington called “entangling alliances.”
– Monroe Doctrine
– World War I
– World War II
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The History of American
Foreign Policy
– The Cold War and the Policy of
Containment
• The relationship between the United
States and the Soviet Union was the
dominant element of American foreign
policy after World War II.
–The Marshall Plan
–Containment
–The Truman Doctrine
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The History of American
Foreign Policy
– Détente
• In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the
two superpowers entered an era of
improved relations known as Détente.
–Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
(SALT) 1969
–Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty
1972
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The History of American
Foreign Policy
– American Foreign Policy in the
1970s: Recognition of Limits
• The Nixon Doctrine declared that
although the United States would help
small nations threatened by communist
aggression with economic and military
aid, those countries must play a major
role in their own defense.
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The History of American
Foreign Policy
– American Foreign Policy in the
1980s: A Resurgent America
• The Reagan Doctrine called for the
United States to offer military aid to
groups attempting to overthrow
communist governments anywhere in
the world.
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The History of American
Foreign Policy
– The Disintegration of the Soviet
Union and the End of the Cold War
• In the late 1980s, a new Soviet leader,
Mikhail Gorbachev, recognized that the
Soviet system was failing. He responded
with bold economic and political reforms.
–Perestroika
–Glasnost
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The International Community
• The nation-state is a political community,
occupying a definite territory, and having an
organized government.
• Diplomatic relations refers to a system of
official contacts between two nations in which
the countries exchange ambassadors and
other diplomatic personnel and operate
embassies in each other’s country.
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The International Community
• The United Nations (UN) is an
international organization founded in
1945 as a diplomatic forum to resolve
conflicts among the world’s nations.
• The World Health Organization
(WHO) is an international organization
created to control disease worldwide.
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The International Community
• The International Monetary Fund
(IMF) is an organization created to
promote economic stability worldwide.
• The World Trade Organization (WTO)
is an international organization that
administers trade laws and provides a
forum for settling trade disputes among
nations.
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The International Community
• The North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) is a regional
military alliance consisting of the United
Sates, Canada, and most of the
European democracies.
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The International Community
• The North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) in an international
accord among the Unites States,
Mexico, and Canada to lower trade
barriers among the three nations.
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The Ends and Means of American
Foreign and Defense Policy
• Ends
– The United States has consistently
pursued three foreign and defense policy
goals throughout its history: national
security, economic prosperity, and the
projection of American values abroad.
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The Ends and Means of American
Foreign and Defense Policy
• Means
– The United States attempts to achieve
foreign policy goals through the use of
military force, economic, diplomatic, and
cultural means.
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American Foreign Policy After 9/11
• The United States: is the world’s
“indispensable nation” (M. Albright).
• Internationalist versus unilateralist views
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American Defense Policy
• Defense Spending
– In general, defense spending rises during
wartime and falls during peacetime.
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Defense Spending as Percentage of
GDP
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Defense Forces and Strategy
• Strategic (nuclear) and conventional
(non-nuclear) forces
• Strategic forces
– MAD - mutual assured destruction
– National Missile Defense (NMD) System
• Conventional forces
– 1.4 million troops in uniform
– Substitute firepower for manpower?
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U.S. Military Personnel
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Concluding Review Questions
• What are the arguments for and against
the policy of preemption?
• What are the most important themes in
the history of American foreign policy?
• How has the environment for American
foreign and defense policymaking
changed since the end of the Cold War?
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Concluding Review Questions
• What are the four principle means
through which the United States has
pursued its foreign policy goals?
• What factor has the greatest impact on
changes in defense spending relative to
the overall economy?
• What impact have the events of
September 11, 2001 and the war in Iraq
and the following occupation had on
American defense policy?
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