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Ben Bradbury Jordan Grant Helen Grossman Jocelyn Karlan Keren Petito Lauren Teplin Ashwin Thomas Foreign Policy Vocabulary Terms: 1) Anti-balllistic missile (ABM): An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a missile designed to counter ballistic missiles. These types of missiles were developed at the end of WWII and into the Cold War as the arms race began between the US and Russia. 2) Anti-appeasement- The view that the US should contain aggressive nations(such as the former Soviet Union). 3) Berlin Blockade- One of the first major crises of the Cold War. It began when the Soviets blocked railroad and street access to the three major western powers. The Berlin Airlift was used to counter this blockade of the designated zones in Berlin. 4) Chadha decision- In June 1983, the Supreme Court ruled that the legislative veto was unconstitutional.The court held that Congress cannot take any action that has the force of law unless the president agrees with that action. 5) Commander -in-chief- Power designated through the Constitution and given to the president alone. As commander in cheif, the president has the power to command the armed forces, and commission officers. He weilds tremendous power over the military. 6) Containment- the forign policy strategy used by the United States at the beginning of the Cold War. This policy was used to try to stop nations moving to Soviet led communism instead of western dominated capitalism. 7) Council on Foreign Relations- a nonpartisan foreign policy membership organization founded in 1921. This private organization helps to shape elite public opinion on forign policy. 8) Cuban Missile Crisis- On October 15, 1962, this Crisis between the US and Soviet Union reached its climax when US spy planes photographed missiles in Cuba from the Soviets, aimed at the United States. This was the closest that the US and Soviets had come to a nuclear war. The Soviets disarmed Cuba and the US disarmed their missiles in Turkey. 9) Detente- the French word meaning relaxing or easing. Thsi term was applied to US and Soviet tensions near the end of the Cold War. Many treaties were passed, and the Soviet economy could no longer support the amssive arms race. This period lasted from the late 1960's until the early 1980's. 10) Disengagement view- A view that the US involvement in Vietnam had led to a military and political disaster and that further similar invovements should be avoided. Also known as the "new isolationism." 11) Domino Theory- An influential theory first articulated by President Eisenhower holding that if an important nation were to fall into communist hands, other neighboring countries would follow siut. The domino theory was a metaphor to explain his point. 12) Executive Agreements- An agreement that the President can sign without the consent of the Congress. This type of agreement is used to sign treaties, and also when troops need to be sent into comabt in ceratin area. 13) Glasnost- the policy of openness, publicity, and transparency into the activities of all governemnt institutions. This was introduced into the Soviet Union by Mikhail Gorbachev.He belived that this could be used to fight the corruption of the top and elite of the Communist Party. 14) Imperial presidency- the idea that a president strong enough to do something that one thinks proper is also strong enough to do something that one finds wrong. 15) Iron curtain- the political barrier, maintained by the Soviet Union, to free travel and communication between Eastern and Western Europe. 16) Legislative veto- what was used before the War Powers Act by Congress to disapprove of an executive decision to block the sale by the president of arms worth more than $25 million to another country. 17) Mayaguez Incident- with the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia on May 12-15, 1975, marked the last official battle of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Less than two weeks after the Communist conquest of South Vietnam, forces of the Communist Khmer Rouge in Cambodia attacked and seized an American merchant ship, the Mayaguez, and captured the crew. President Gerald Ford reacted by sending in the Marines to rescue the crew. 18) Multinational corporation- a corporation or enterprise that manages production establishments or delivers services in at least two countries. They can have a powerful influence in international relations and local economies, and thus play an important role in globalization. 19) Munich Accords- the peak of the appeasement era; an effort of British and French leaders to satisfy Hitler’s territorial demands in Europe that had led not to “peace in our time”, as proclaimed by Neville Chaimberlain, but instead led to even greater territorial demands and ultimately to world war. 20) National Security Agency- a key component of the US Intelligence Community off the United States government, headed by the Director of National Intelligence, it is responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence. 21) Perestroika- the term for the economic reforms introduced in 1985 by the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Its literal meaning is "restructuring", referring to the restructuring of the Soviet economy. 22) Rapprochement- a re-establishment of cordial relations, as between two countries. In the political scene of an individual country, rapprochement means the bringing together of diverse political factions. 23) State Department- the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. It is administered by the Secretary of State. 24) Third World- originally a Grench term referring to nations neutral in the cold war between the United Nations and the Soviet Union, the Third World now mean almost any underdeveloped nation in Africa, Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East. 25) War Powers Act- passed in 1973 over a presidential veto, this law placed the following restrictions on the president’s ability to use military force: he must report in writing to Congress within forty-eight hours after he introduces US troops into areas where hostilities have occurred or are imminent; within sixty days after troops are sent into hostile situations, Congress must, by declaration of war, provide for the continuation of hostile action by US troops; if Congress fails to provide such authorization, the president must withdraw the troops; and if Congress passes a concurrent resolution directing the removal of US troops, the president must comply. 26) Worldview- the comprehensive mental beliefs regarding the critical problems facing the United States in the world and of the appropriate and inappropriate ways of responding to these problems. Objectives 1. List the Constitutional powers of the president and compare them with the authority of Congress in foreign affairs. Why does the president now have a larger role than the Framers of the Constitution may have intended? The Constitution specifically mentions three powers to the executive in foreign policy. The President is the Commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the president has the power to make treaties with other countries with the “advice and consent” of the Senate, appointing, sending, and receiving ambassadors. Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign countries. The Senate has the power to approve treaties and must confirm ambassadors and other senior foreign policy officials. Congress controls foreign policy funding, can raise and equip the military, and has the power to declare war. The president has assumed a larger role than intended because presidents have taken extremes during recent times of crisis. The Supreme Court has supported presidents in the past when they take drastic measures during wartime or times of crisis. Examples of this include F.D.R. sending Japanese-Americans to internment camps during World War II and Kennedy and Johnson sending troops to Vietnam. 2. Explain why checks on the powers of the national government in foreign affairs are primarily political rather than constitutional. Give one example from U.S. history since 1970 and one example from George W. Bush’s administration. Checks in national government in foreign affairs are primarily political because party differences and strong anti-war sentiments in Congress affect Congress’s willingness to fund or support a war that it does not agree with. In 1971, Congress passed the Case-Church Amendment, which prohibited any further U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia without Congressional authorization. Since the Democrats have regained control of Congress, they have similarly tried to check George W. Bush in the Middle East. On March 23, 2007, the House of Representatives passed an Iraq spending bill that stipulated that troops begin withdrawing in March 2008 and that most US forces must be out of Iraq by August 31, 2008. The Senate is currently debating this bill. 3. Describe the War Powers Act of 1973. Explain the reasons and purpose behind it, as well as its provisions. How have US presidents responded to the War Powers Act? The War Powers Act of 1973 was created to give congress more power over the armed forces. Presidents were sending armed troops to hostile areas without a formal declaration of war. Congress was concerned that the checks and balances between the executive branch and the legislative branch were not being appropriately enforced. To ensure that congress had more control over the military, four restrictions were created (The War Powers Act of 1973). -The president must formally notify congress within two days after he sends troops to a dangerous place where violence is about to break out. -Congress must grant a declaration of war after troops have been in a dangerous location for sixty days for the troops to be able to remain there. -If Congress refuses to give a declaration of war, the president must remove the military from the hostile area. -If Congress delivers a concurrent resolution to remove the military from the hostile area, the president must carry out the wishes of congress. U.S. presidents believe the War Powers Act of 1973 is unconstitutional. Although all of the presidents do not agree on the constitutionality of the act, all the presidents except Bush has upheld its constituents. 4. Describe the organization, the objectives, and some of the problems faced by key agencies in policy making, including the State Department, the National Security Counsel, and the Central Intelligence Agency. After America became a major world power; a lot of emphasis was focused on Foreign Policymaking. One major problem is that the foreign policy establishment is that it is so large that it is impossible for one person to organize it. The president does not have time to look after everything so he directed a staff to take over organizing foreign policy. The National Security Counsel consists of the vice president, secretaries of state and defense, director of CIA, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of State, and the attorney general. This counsel helps get these important figures together to decide on decisions concerning foreign policy. Foreign policy making does not come without its flaws. During Reagan¢s presidency the National Security Counsel supplied money, which they got from secret dealings of weapons to Iran, to support the guerillas in Nicaragua. This scandal was publicized and Reagan¢s reputation was hurt. The state Department rarely initiates new policies that may be potentially disruptive because they are so intimidated by what other countries will think. Problems are prevalent in foreign policy, even in the C.I.A. The Central Intelligence Agency is often mistrusting of other organizations and belittles intelligence analysts. 5. Give reasons for the volatility of public opinion on foreign affairs. Describe the problems that the president may face, using the public opinion on the Vietnam War and the Iraq War as examples. This volatility of public opinion on foreign affairs reflects the desire of Americans to support the United States when it confronts with other nations. Most foreign catastrophes increased the level of public approval of the president. Sometime people might argue that whatever support a president gets during a military crisis will disappear once dead soldiers return from the war effort. However, usually deaths tend to reduce how favorable people are towards a war, the fighting as to defeat the enemy more quickly escalates. Forty-nine percent of the people favored the end of the American bombing of North Vietnam before President Johnson ordered a halt. Afterward, sixty percent of the people supported Johnson. Just before September 11, 2001, President Bush's favorability rating was fifty-one percent; just after the attack, it was eighty-six percent. Both presidents had an increase in support from the general public after their policies were put into action. 6. Explain the different worldview concepts of foreign affairs in terms of anti-appeasement and disengagement. The anti-appeasement model was the result of Pearl Harbor. The Japanese attack was a day that ended isolationism for realists. Most of the applications used of the containment worldview were successful in a sense that it did not harm American interests, they proved welcome to allies, or prevented a military conquest. The Disengagement view resulted from the experience of the younger foreign policy elite that came to power in the 1970s. unlike the applications of the antiappeasement view, the American entry into Vietnam had led to a military defeat and a domestic political disaster 7. Who was Mr. X? Describe his containment strategy and evaluate its effectiveness during the Cold War. Would a similar strategy work for the War on Terror? Mr. X is better known as George Frost Kennan. He was the United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union. He was also a political scientist and historian. His writings inspired the Truman Doctrine. He was openly against the Russian spread of communism. His strategy was to provide aid and political help to Japan and Western Europe to keep alive capitalism and prevent communism from becoming appealing. A similar strategy would not be successful for the War on Terror. Terrorists are too unstable and will continue to exist no matter what the conditions are. Terrorism is not easily countered through political policy. 8. Describe the pros and cons of a human rights worldview of foreign affairs. How important should human rights be in US foreign policy compared to the military and economic interests of the country? A human rights view in world affairs would have both negatives and positives. The negatives would obviously impact the extent to which the U.S. could perform its policy. The U.S. cannot perform optimally if it worries about human loss. If it does worry about human rights, it is saving those lives and being humane, and at the same time creating a better public image to the rest of the world. If you do not show human rights, you gain the advantage of not being limited, but you lose public support and human life/rights. 9. Review the revisionist argument that it is the material interests of elites, rather than their principles, that explain US foreign policy. Give some possible examples from US history, and be sure to explain what revisionism is. Revisionism is the practice in which historians re-evaluate accepted historical accounts using different outlooks and opinions. Most often, these historians are part of a minority movement, such as women and African-Americans, or are up-and-coming in their fields and therefore have little at risk when fighting traditional history. Revisionists work to shift the general opinion of historical events, and when this does occur, revisionists refer to it as a paradigm shift. Revisionists have often considered the theory that the government manipulates and controls public opinion on foreign affairs, and is thus the dominant force behind all planning. Revisionists have responded to this theory highlighting the power of the elite class in America and the general elite motivation to protect their material interests. During the Vietnam War, for example, as revisionist William Appleman Williams describes, the elites pressured to continue to War even as progress drew to a halt. The revisionists suggest that although the humanitarian goal would be to pull out of the war that was costing significant numbers of American lives, the elites wanted to continue due to their hopes to preserve American notoriety and power. Elite material interests also largely manipulated Theodore Roosevelt’s Big Stick Diplomacy. While many Americans argued that the foreign aggression was inhumane, Roosevelt’s government wanted to continue due to their goals of world dominance and trade success. 10. Trace the recent history of the relationship between the US and the United Nations As the United States established itself as the world’s most dominant nation, natural power struggles arose in the United Nations. The organization was not established with the intent of having a single most powerful nation, and the United States struggled in this position. The first instance of conflict with the UN occurred over the issue of replacing the Republic of China with the People’s Republic of China in 1971 on the Security Council. In 1975, conflict struck again over the issue of the establishment of the state of Israel. This has been a lasting conflict, as the US has showed strong support for the Middle East democracy. In 1975 the UN decided that Zionism was a form of racism, infuriating many Israel-supporting Americans. Since 1989 there have been 12 instances of Security Council votes where the United States was the lone dissenting vote; 10 of these votes were over the issue of Israel. Under the Reagan administration, US-UN relations were at their worst and the United States began withholding its funds due to the United Nations. By the time the United States decided to begin improving relations, the US had accumulated a significant debt. Still significant in recent news, the United States the United Nations disagreed over the ambush of Iraq in a search for weapons of mass destruction. In 2002 and 2003, although the UN conducted unsuccessful searches for weapons and advised not entering Iraq, the United States creating its own international coalition and attacked Iraq. Most recently, in 2007, the United States and United Nations were in conflict because the US did not want to receive Republic of Abkhazia minister, Sergei Shamba, despite UN orders to do so. Currently, Congress often works of reform bills for the UN, hoping to improve its means of collecting funds as well as its productivity. While there is a growing movement in the United States to leave the UN entirely, it is weak and unlikely to succeed.