What is the difference between foreign and defense policy

The fourth main goal of U. The payoff of stability that comes from other U. While certainly looking out for its own strategic interests in considering foreign policy strategy, the United States nonetheless attempts to support international peace through many aspects of its foreign policy, such as foreign aid, and through its support of and participation in international organizations such as the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO , and the Organization of American States.

The United Nations UN is perhaps the foremost international organization in the world today. The General Assembly includes all member nations and admits new members and approves the UN budget by a two-thirds majority.

The Security Council includes fifteen countries, five of which are permanent members including the United States and ten that are nonpermanent and rotate on a five-year-term basis. The entire membership is bound by decisions of the Security Council, which makes all decisions related to international peace and security. Now, in the early decades of the twenty-first century, it is common to think of the September 11 terrorist attacks in as the big game-changer.

The December Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Hawaii was a comparable surprise-style attack that plunged the United States into war. The war brought about a sea change in international relations and governance, from the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, to NATO that created a cross-national military shield for Western Europe, to the creation of the UN in , when the representatives of fifty countries met and signed the Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco, California.

Today, the United Nations, headquartered in New York City, includes of the nations of the world. It is a voluntary association to which member nations pay dues based on the size of their economy. Follow-up activity: In addition to facilitating collective decision-making on world matters, the UN carries out many different programs.

Go to the UN website to find information about three different UN programs that are carried out around the world. The fact that the U. If the United States truly felt bound by UN opinion regarding the manner in which it carries out its war on terrorism, it would approach the UN Security Council for approval.

Another cross-national organization to which the United States is tied, and that exists to forcefully represent Western allies and in turn forge the peace, is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO. While more militaristic in approach than the United Nations, NATO has the goal of protecting the interests of Europe and the West and the assurance of support and defense from partner nations.

However, while it is a strong military coalition, it has not sought to expand and take over other countries. Rather, the peace and stability of Europe are its main goals. Besides participating in the UN and NATO, the United States also distributes hundreds of billions of dollars each year in foreign aid to improve the quality of life of citizens in developing countries.

The United States may also forgive the foreign debts of these countries. By definition, developing countries are not modernized in terms of infrastructure and social services and thus suffer from instability. Helping them modernize and develop stable governments is intended as a benefit to them and a prop to the stability of the world.

An alternative view of U. The United States pursues its four main foreign policy goals through several different foreign policy types, or distinct substantive areas of foreign policy in which the United States is engaged. Trade policy is the way the United States interacts with other countries to ease the flow of commerce and goods and services between countries. A country is said to be engaging in protectionism when it does not permit other countries to sell goods and services within its borders, or when it charges them very high tariffs or import taxes to do so.

At the other end of the spectrum is a free trade approach, in which a country allows the unfettered flow of goods and services between itself and other countries. At times the United States has been free trade—oriented, while at other times it has been protectionist. This pact removed trade barriers and other transaction costs levied on goods moving between the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Critics see a free trade approach as problematic and instead advocate for protectionist policies that shield U. One of the more prominent recent examples of protectionist policies occurred in the steel industry, as U. The United States sells many goods and services around the world, but overall it maintains a trade deficit, in which more goods and services are coming in from other countries than are going out to be sold overseas. The current U. For many, foreign policy is synonymous with diplomacy.

While diplomatic relations are not always rosy, when they are operating it does suggest that things are going well between the countries. Diplomatic relations are formalized through the sharing of ambassadors. Ambassadors are country representatives who live and maintain an office known as an embassy in the other country.

Just as exchanging ambassadors formalizes the bilateral relationship between countries, calling them home signifies the end of the relationship. Diplomacy tends to be the U. To illustrate how international relations play out when countries come into conflict, consider what has become known as the Hainan Island incident. In , a U. The Chinese jet fighter crashed and the pilot died. The U. China retrieved the aircraft and captured the U.

Had they not succeeded, an escalating set of options likely would have included diplomatic sanctions removal of ambassadors , economic sanctions such as an embargo on trade and the flow of money between the countries , minor military options such as establishment of a no-fly zone just outside Chinese airspace , or more significant military options such as a focused campaign to enter China and get the pilots back. Nonmilitary tools to influence another country, like economic sanctions, are referred to as soft power , while the use of military power is termed hard power.

President George H. Bush greets U. The first troops were deployed there in August , as part of Operation Desert Shield, which was intended to build U. At the more serious end of the foreign policy decision-making spectrum, and usually as a last resort when diplomacy fails, the U. Such war can be offensive, as were the Iraq War in and the removal of Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. Or it can be defensive, as a means to respond to aggression from others, such as the Persian Gulf War in , also known as Operation Desert Storm.

It can be used to increase standard of living to the point that food aid is no longer required. Conversely, badly managed food aid can create problems by disrupting local markets, depressing crop prices, and discouraging food production.

Foreign aid has been given to a variety of recipients, including developing countries, countries of strategic importance to the United States, and countries recovering from war. The United States federal budget spent In absolute dollar terms, the United States is the largest international aid donor, but as a percent of gross national income, its contribution to economic aid is only 0. The United States has backed unpopular leaders the Shah of Iran, , for example , mired itself in losing battles consider the Vietnam War, , ignored ethnic cleansing as was the case in Rwanda, , and given foreign aid to corrupt regimes as it did to Egypt, Too often, the United States has had to support the lesser of two evils when it comes to relations with developing nations.

Economic prosperity is necessary to achieve foreign policy goals, and despite the recession, the U. In the two hundred and thirty years since the independence of the United States, the country has grown to be a huge, integrated, industrialized economy that makes up nearly a quarter of the world economy.

The main policies that contributed to this economic prosperity were a large unified market, a supportive political-legal system, vast areas of highly productive farmlands, vast natural resources especially timber, coal, iron, and oil , and an entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to investing in material and human capital. Advanced Technology : The United States has been able to grow into a world economic power in part due to the rapid advances of technology and industry.

This picture shows the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, which carries oil from northern Alaska to the rest of the United States. Without substantial economic means, a state cannot expect to have influence on the world stage. Similarly, economic prosperity is tied to the maintenance of a global military presence.

Without a strong military, the pursuit of national interests becomes more difficult. In , a perfect storm of economic disasters hit the United States and indeed the entire world. The most serious began with the collapse of housing bubbles in California and Florida, along with the collapse of housing prices and the construction industry.

A series of the largest banks in the United States and Europe also collapsed; some went bankrupt, others were bailed out by the government. The United States government voted billion in bailout money, committed trillions of dollars to shoring up the financial system, but the measures did not reverse the declines. Banks drastically tightened their lending policies, despite infusions of federal money.

By late , distress was spreading beyond the financial and housing sectors. President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of in February ; the bill provides billion in stimulus through a combination of spending and tax cuts.

The second highest share was Note that it is been declining since then. Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. Foreign Policy. Search for:. Learning Objectives Compare and contrast the elements of U. Foreign policies are implemented to ensure that these national interests are met. In the past, foreign policy was primarily military-related.

Now, in a globalized world, foreign policies involve other areas as well such as trade, finance, human rights, environmental issues, etc. In the U. Congress also oversees some areas of foreign policy.

Two primary visions of foreign policy in the U. Key Terms globalization : The process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture; advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the Internet, are major factors that precipitate interdependence of economic and cultural activities.

Also important is the pursuit of wealth, economic growth, and power. National Security Policy National security policies, designed to protect the state, include military security as well as non-military security. Learning Objectives Explain the tension that exists between national security and civil and political rights. Key Takeaways Key Points To ensure national security, a state must possess military power. However, a state must also be economically, politically, and environmentally secure.

Current national security problems facing the United States include the Drug War in Mexico, domestic terrorism, instability in the Middle East, the national debt, and the recent economic recession, among many others. Key Terms national security : The safety of a country as managed through the exercise of economic and political power, intelligence agencies and diplomacy. It significantly reduced restrictions in the power of law enforcement agencies to gather intelligence, deport immigrants, and monitor financial transactions.

Diplomacy Diplomacy refers to the art and practice of conducting negotiations and developing relationships between states. Learning Objectives Explain how diplomatic recognition and informal diplomacy are tools of foreign policy. Key Takeaways Key Points In diplomacy, representatives of states communicate on topics such as human rights, trade conditions, or war and peace. Diplomacy usually involves the negotiation of treaties, alliances, and organizations pertaining to these topics.

Diplomatic recognition is an important aspect of diplomacy. Being formally recognized as a sovereign state is important for peaceful relationships and for participation in the world, as the situation in Taiwan demonstrates. In informal diplomacy, states communicate with each other through non-governmental means. For example, academics, members of think tanks, or former politicians may serve as channels of informal diplomacy.

Key Terms diplomacy : The art and practice of conducting international relations by negotiating alliances, treaties, agreements, etc. International Humanitarian Policies and Foreign Aid Humanitarian policies are ostensibly intended to help other countries, and include human rights policies, aid, and interventions. Learning Objectives Analyze the emergence and justification for humanitarian intervention in world politics. Key Takeaways Key Points Humanitarian interventions use military forces from one or more state to halt violence or human rights violations occurring in another state.

Humanitarian interventions are often controversial. Some argue that countries like the United States may only use humanitarian reasons to justify intervening, when the true motivations involve non-altruistic, political concerns.

Economic foreign aid is assistance given by one country to another country. Foreign aid can consist of humanitarian aid which is designed to help in an emergency , development aid which is designed to improve society long- term , and food aid. Giving foreign aid is one of the core components of U. S foreign policy and a large part of the foreign policy budget.

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