A Creative Tension

A Creative Tension PDF

Author: Lee Hamilton

Publisher: Woodrow Wilson Center Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 124

ISBN-13: 9781930365124

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With an insider's perspective based on thirty-four years in Congress, Hamilton elucidates current domestic and international pressures influencing U.S. foreign policy, strengths and weaknesses in the foreign policy process, and ways to improve the performance of the president and Congress. A Creative Tension argues that better consultation between the executive and legislative branches is the most effective way to strengthen American foreign policy.

Congress and the Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy

Congress and the Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy PDF

Author: James M. Lindsay

Publisher:

Published: 1994-08

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13:

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Have we entered an era of the "Imperial Congress"? How and why do members of Congress wield power over foreign policy? DOes Congress undermine the national interest when it asserts itself in foreign affairs? Congress is more active in foreign policy than at any time since the 1930s, notes James lindsay, but the important questions raised by this activism have not been fully addressed by contemporary scholars and commentors. In Congress and the Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy Lindsay offers a timely and comprehensive examination of the role the modern Congress plays in foreign policy. He shows how the resurgence of congressional activism marks a return to the pattern that was once the norm in American politics. He analyzes the distribution of decision-making authority in Congress, reviews the constraints and incentives for members of Congress to become involved in foreign policy,describes committe work, the legislative process, and other institutional structures.

Friends and Foes

Friends and Foes PDF

Author: Rebecca K. C. Hersman

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2012-01-10

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 9780815798965

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Foreign policy in the post–cold war era is profoundly complex, and so too are the institutions that share the responsibility to guide and manage America's relations with other countries. Policymakers struggle within porous and fragmented institutions, in which policy is driven more powerfully by clusters of like-minded individuals than by disciplined organizations. The nation's political parties face deep divisions over foreign policy and are unable to forge a coherent vision for the future. Congress is increasingly polarized along ideological lines, while traditional internationalist foreign policy spans a truncated political center. Few aspects of U.S. politics are more contentious or controversial than the respective roles of Congress and the executive branch in formulating foreign policy. In this complex environment, scholars, pundits, and policymakers look to the public and high-profile battles between Congress and the president as a bellwether of the future of U.S. foreign policy.In reality, foreign policy is often shaped, debated, and made out of public view. In Friends and Foes, Rebecca K. C. Hersman shifts the focus away from headline-grabbing events and disagreements to the day-to-day interactions that form the backbone of policymaking.Hersman illustrates the ebb and flow of foreign policy development through many examples and anecdotes. She also includes three in-depth case studies from the mid-1990s: the controversial transfer of three U.S. warships to Turkey; the dispute over relaxing sanctions against Pakistan because of concerns about that nation's nuclear proliferation record, and the 1995–97 battle over the Chemical Weapons Convention. The book also illuminates the role of the media in influencing the outcome of foreign policy decisionmaking. Countering the conventional wisdom that a president and a Congress of the same political party are best able to "get things done," Friends and Foes sheds new light on the institutional dynamics, conflic

Congress and U.S. Foreign Policy

Congress and U.S. Foreign Policy PDF

Author: Ralph G. Carter

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-06-03

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 1538151243

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Leading scholars in the study of congress and US foreign policy address congress’s vital role in determining how and why the US chooses it's international policy agendas. They address key aspects of congressional activism, assertiveness, and acquiescence in an era of divided government and polarized politics.

A Question of Balance

A Question of Balance PDF

Author: Thomas Mann

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2010-12-01

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 0815705239

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In recent years, a more active and aggressive Congress has often sharply disagreed with the president over the ends and means of American foreign policy. The normal tensions that arise in the U.S. system of separate institutions sharing power have been exacerbated by the contemporary pattern of split-party control of the two branches. The ensuing conflict in areas ranging from Central America to China has stimulated a spirited debate about the constitutional authority and institutional competence of the president and Congress to make foreign policy. In this volume, noted authors, led by Thomas Mann, examine executive-legislative relations in five major policy areas: war powers, intelligence, arms control, diplomacy, and trade. They offer a fresh analysis of the sources and consequences of conflict between the President and Congress as well as constructive suggestions for strengthening each branch's comparative advantages.

Sailing the Water's Edge

Sailing the Water's Edge PDF

Author: Helen V. Milner

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2015-09-15

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0691165475

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How U.S. domestic politics shapes the nation's foreign policy When engaging with other countries, the U.S. government has a number of different policy instruments at its disposal, including foreign aid, international trade, and the use of military force. But what determines which policies are chosen? Does the United States rely too much on the use of military power and coercion in its foreign policies? Sailing the Water's Edge focuses on how domestic U.S. politics—in particular the interactions between the president, Congress, interest groups, bureaucratic institutions, and the public—have influenced foreign policy choices since World War II and shows why presidents have more control over some policy instruments than others. Presidential power matters and it varies systematically across policy instruments. Helen Milner and Dustin Tingley consider how Congress and interest groups have substantial material interests in and ideological divisions around certain issues and that these factors constrain presidents from applying specific tools. As a result, presidents select instruments that they have more control over, such as use of the military. This militarization of U.S. foreign policy raises concerns about the nature of American engagement, substitution among policy tools, and the future of U.S. foreign policy. Milner and Tingley explore whether American foreign policy will remain guided by a grand strategy of liberal internationalism, what affects American foreign policy successes and failures, and the role of U.S. intelligence collection in shaping foreign policy. The authors support their arguments with rigorous theorizing, quantitative analysis, and focused case studies, such as U.S. foreign policy in Sub-Saharan Africa across two presidential administrations. Sailing the Water’s Edge examines the importance of domestic political coalitions and institutions on the formation of American foreign policy.

The President, the Congress, and the Making of Foreign Policy

The President, the Congress, and the Making of Foreign Policy PDF

Author: Paul E. Peterson

Publisher:

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 9780806126548

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"What better time... to examine again the relative power of the president and Congress in the conduct of international affairs. This collection of essays is excellent for that purpose. Focusing on 1965-1990... the essays are instructive and engaging". -- Choice. "Few works to date have done a more thorough job of looking at inter-branch conflicts in foreign affairs from a Congressional perspective. Peterson's book is highly recommended". -- Presidential Studies Quarterly.