Foreign Policy Decisions

Frederick H. Hartmann and Robert L. Wendzel, in "Foreign Policy Decisions," Chapter 1 in their book America's Foreign Policy in a Changing World, explore the process of making foreign policy decisions in cases where the "vital interests" (10) of the nation appear to be at stake. These cases often involve the decision to use or not use military force.

Exploring the Persian Gulf Crisis, the authors write that after intense public debate involving President Bush, the Congress and the American people, Bush prevailed in his decision to attack Iraq militarily, backed by the support of the United Nations. The authors argue that this decision and others involving vital interests and possible military action are far more complex than imagined.

For example, "every set of alternatives has four values, two on each side. To ignore any of the four is unwise" (17). Without complete analysis of all factors---insofar as possible considering unknowable future events and consequences---foreign policy "stumbles from one problem to the next" (19).

The authors argue that the checks and balances built into the Constitution are still in effect today, making the President far more answerable to Congress, the courts, and the people, than many critics of Presidential power might argue. Nevertheless, the President does have more power to implement policy in foreign affairs than in domestic affairs. Any major foreign policy decision involves a long process which "demands a choice on commitment,

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in the United States from 1789 to 1945. From 1789 to the end of the Civil War, three trends prevailed: a drive for continental supremacy from coast to coast; security in the hemisphere based on the Monroe Doctrine; and avoidance of commitments in Europe or Asia which would distract and deplete national energies. This set of realistic and practical considerations made sense as the nation struggled to form itself and find a place in the world. Foreign policy was based first and foremost of national interest, expanding territory, securing the hemisphere, and avoiding unnecessary and counter-productive foreign involvement. After the Civil War, the United States became more involved in foreign affairs. Increasingly, through the end of the 19th century and into World War I, the United States' role "changed more as an almost accidental by-product of America's phenomenal growth and enhanced power than as a consequence of any deliberate policy choices" (71). After World War I, Americans reflected on the war and concluded that the nation had become too involved in foreign affairs. The authors call the retreat from such involvement between the wars "unilateralism" rather than isolationism. This unilateralism played a major role in the de

Category: Government - F