Us Foreign Policy

Front 1

The Shifting Pendulum of Power - James M. Lindsay

Back 1

Congress typically exercises foreign policy power when:
Americans find themselves at peace
The President's policies are struggling
Congress has great consensus on the issue

Lindsay: Power is seen as a "shifting pendulum" between Congress and the President in foreign policy decision making

Diven: Power may shift but the scales tip towards the President who has a greater ability to shape public opinions and frame important issues in the public's eye

Front 2

Ethnic Interest Groups in American Foreign Policy - James M. McCormick

Back 2

Ethnic groups matter and have held a great influence over US foreign policy decisions, but primarily only on policies toward the country of each lobby's focus

Some lobbies have a greater impact because of size, distribution of population, involvement in political activism and the type of policy sought out

The quality that distinguishes ethnic lobbies from others is "identity politics" which is the strong emotional bonds of large numbers of Americans to their cultural or ancestral homes

Front 3

External Affairs and the Electoral Connection - Miroslav Nincic

Back 3

It has been shown that foreign policy matters to a large enough percentage of voters to have a significant electoral impact. This is especially true in times of tension.

"During halcyon times, foreign policy can affect the electoral balance in a tight election; in troubled times, it may play a decisive role."

Front 4

constructive engagement

Back 4

A policy of having political and business relationships with a country, while at the same time supporting political and social change within that country.

Instead of halting relations with a country with abhorrent policies, larger countries can instead use a continued relationship to promote change and stability

Front 5

non-attitudes

Back 5

A public opinion phenomenon in which people offer an opinion even when they don't actually have one. This can also occur when a person has an opinion on an issue in general, but no opinions about its finer points and technicalities.

Front 6

embedded journalists

Back 6

Reporters who physically travel with the troops on the war front. Journalists have a close up view of the war that can become a microcosm. This is dangerous for journalists and can cause resentment from the troops assigned to them

Front 7

media pools

Back 7

Reporters are kept miles away in remote hotels apart from the conflict and are fed information through organized press conferences. The government can control the narrative and reporters are unhappy about the distance and filtering of information

Front 8

CNN Effect

Back 8

Demands from the public to have nearly instantaneous reporting leaders to sensationalized reporting without properly checking sources and accuracy of the information being given

Front 9

trade power

Back 9

Both the selling and buying country can possess trade power. Buying countries have trade power when a large percentage of a supplying countries exports go to their citizens. Selling countries have trade power if they can exercise a control over crucial commodities.

Front 10

non-tariff barriers

Back 10

Non-tariff barriers to trade include quotas, regulations, quality control and dumping goods at low costs

Front 11

free vs. fair trade

Back 11

Fair trade advocates argue that markets benefit industrialized countries at the expense of less developed countries. Fair trade should do more to protect human rights, local culture and ecological systems. (Short-term costs v. long-term consequences)

Free trade advocates contend that goods and services should move freely across national boundaries

Front 12

imperial presidency

Back 12

President's symbolic and actualized power over Congress. Questions of whether president has immense power or if Congress simply allows it

Front 13

judicial non-interference

Back 13

The judicial branch refuses to discuss War Powers Act but generally supports the president in foreign policy issues

Front 14

pluralism

Back 14

Belief that interest groups are valuable in creating foreign policy. Groups arise and counter one another so several varying interests are heard. This is an optimistic and positive view of interest groups.

Front 15

elitism

Back 15

Belief that the interest group structure is closed and only allows those elite interests to be heard. Upper income and highly educated groups are overrepresented in interest groups. Power elite theory that pluralism is a cover for elitism. This is a negative view of interest groups.

Front 16

military industrial complex

Back 16

Eisenhower warned of the perils of the military gaining excessive influence. Feared that common interests between the military and the industrial sector that supports the military would undermine amore objected assessment of security needs.

Front 17

hyper pluralism

Back 17

Multiple competing interests and efforts by policy makers to satisfy those interests results in ineffective, piecemeal policy. Passivity or ignorance on the part of voters enables hyper pluralism to occur.

Front 18

USAID

Back 18

US Agency for International Development: government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid.

Front 19

attentive public

Back 19

Public are small groups of people who follow one or more particular issue very closely. They are usually well informed about the issue and have a very strong opinion of it.

Front 20

Siad Barre

Back 20

Military dictator of the President of the Somali Democratic Republic who advocated a form of scientific socialism. US provided aid because of human rights violations. This resulted in a form of mission creep once US troops began hunting down the war lords and leaders.

Front 21

apartheid

Back 21

A system of legislative racial segregation in South Africa in which the rights of majority black inhabitants were curtailed and minority rule was maintained.

Front 22

leading public opinion

Back 22

As opposed to simply reading public opinion, leading public opinion is deploying persuasion techniques at mass scale. This is generally done through or with the help of the media

Front 23

imperial overstretch

Back 23

Hypothesis which suggests that an empire can extend itself beyond its ability to maintain or expand its military and economic commitments.

Front 24

axis of evil

Back 24

Term used by George W. Bush to describe governments that he accused of helping terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction. It was used to pinpoint common enemies of the United States and rally the country in support of the War on Terror.

Front 25

gender gap

Back 25

The phenomenon in which women are more likely to support health care and human rights issues and less likely to support issues that deal with violent conflict and war

Front 26

generational influence

Back 26

Voters are influenced by the issues that have greatly impacted their life, so generations tend to vote differently from other generations. For example, those who grew up in the Vietnam area are less likely to support US involvement in foreign affairs.

Front 27

Bretton Woods System

Back 27

The Bretton Woods system was the first example of a fully negotiated monetary order intended to govern monetary relations among independent nation-states. It established institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and secured exchange rates

Front 28

pack journalism

Back 28

The characterization of news reporting as having become homogeneous. Since reporters often rely upon one another for new and tips, a type of group think occurs and a few particular stories are reported on throughout several media outlets.

Front 29

failed state

Back 29

A failed state is a state perceived as having failed at some of the basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government.Common characteristics of a failing state include a central government so weak or ineffective that it has little practical control over much of its territory; non-provision of public services; widespread corruption and criminality; refugees and involuntary movement of populations; and sharp economic decline

Front 30

mission creep

Back 30

Mission creep is the expansion of a project or mission beyond its original goals, often after initial successes. Mission creep is usually considered undesirable due to the dangerous path of each success breeding more ambitious attempts, only stopping when a final, often catastrophic, failure occurs

Front 31

pre-emptive strike

Back 31

A Preemptive strike refers to a surprise attack launched with the stated intention of countering an anticipated enemy offensive.

Front 32

American exceptionalism

Back 32

American exceptionalism is the theory that the United States is qualitatively different from other nation states. In this view, U.S. exceptionalism stems from its emergence from a revolution, becoming what political scientist Seymour Martin Lipset called "the first new nation"

Front 33

AIPIC

Back 33

American Israel Public Affairs Committee - lobbying group for Israel. One of the most influential lobbies within the United States - a large reason why the US continues to heavily support Israel even though this leads to tension and conflict with other countries

Front 34

social contract theory

Back 34

Social contract arguments typically posit that individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly, to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the ruler or magistrate (or to the decision of a majority), in exchange for protection of their remaining rights. The question of the relation between natural and legal rights, therefore, is often an aspect of social contract theory

Front 35

externalities

Back 35

In economics, an externality is the cost or benefit that affects a party who did not choose to incur that cost or benefit

Front 36

spectrum of armed conflict

Back 36

Unofficial rules that international law chooses to follow which shows all types of warfare and further breaks them down into what is an acceptable form of conflict and what is not. EAch type of conflict lies on a spectrum from non-violent to deadly.

Front 37

iron triangle

Back 37

In United States politics, the iron triangle comprises the policy-making relationship among the congressional committees, the bureaucracy, and interest groups.Central to the concept of an iron triangle is the assumption that bureaucratic agencies, as political entities, seek to create and consolidate their own power base. In this view an agency's power is determined by its constituency, not by its consumers.

Front 38

infotainment

Back 38

Infotainment is "information-based media content or programming that also includes entertainment content in an effort to enhance popularity with audiences and consumers

Front 39

uni-multipolarity

Back 39

Contemporary international politics" ... "is instead a strange hybrid, a uni-multipolar system with one superpower and several major powers.

Front 40

What are the types of media biases?

Back 40

Corporate, source-tendency, expediency, mainstream, language, sensationalism and political

Front 41

What are the advantages and disadvantages of sanctions?

Back 41

Economic sanctions work as a middle ground between diplomatic and military leverage. For sanctions to succeed, the cost of defiance must be greater than the cost of compliance. It is very difficult, however, to determine if a sanction was successful or not. Costs are very hard to measure, it is hard to definitively connect change to sanctions, and sanctions may also have preventative effects for other countries.

Front 42

Trade Sanctions v. Economic Sanctions

Back 42

Trade sanctions are more targeted at a single country while economic sanctions are heftier and more broad.

Front 43

Explanations for US protectionism

Back 43

Political pressure from vocal minorities such as certain agricutural industries, control of essential commodities, and ease adjustment for dying and infant industries.

Front 44

Categories of Foreign Aid Assistance

Back 44

Military, economic development, basic human needs and disaster relief. Objectives are security enhancement, economic benefits, humanitarian and ideological.