chapter 17


Chapter 17: National Security Policymaking

• American Foreign Policy: Instruments, Actors, and Policymakers

• American Foreign Policy Through the Cold War

• American Foreign Policy and the War on Terrorism

• Defense Policy• The New National Security Agenda• Understanding National Security Policymaking• Summary


Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives

• American Foreign Policy: Instruments, Actors, and Policymakers• LO 17.1: Identify the major instruments and

actors in making national security policy.



• American Foreign Policy Through the Cold War• LO 17.2: Outline the evolution of and major

issues in American foreign policy through the end of the Cold War.



• American Foreign Policy and the War on Terrorism• LO 17.3: Explain the major obstacles to

success in the war on terrorism.

• Defense Policy• LO 17.4: Identify the major elements of

defense policy.



• The New National Security Agenda• LO 17.5: Analyze the evolving challenges

for U.S. national security policy.



• Understanding National Security Policymaking• LO 17.6: Assess the role of democratic

politics in making national security policy and the role of national security policy in expanding government.

American Foreign Policy: Instruments, Actors, and PolicymakersLO 17.1: Identify the major instruments and actors in making national security policy.

• Foreign Policy• Policy that involves choice taking about

relations with the rest of the world.• President is the chief initiator of U.S.

foreign policy.

To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman


American Foreign Policy: Instruments, Actors, and Policymakers

• Instruments of Foreign Policy• Actors on the World Stage• The Policymakers

To Learning Objectives

LO 17.1



• Instruments of Foreign Policy• Military – War, threat of war, and military

force.• Economic – Control of oil, trade

regulations, tariff policies, and monetary policies.

• Diplomacy – Summit talks and treaties provide relationships.


LO 17.1



• Actors on the World Stage• United Nations – Created in 1945 and

today has 192 member nations with a peacekeeping mission and programs in areas such as economic development and health, education, and welfare.

• Security Council has real power.


LO 17.1



• Actors on the World Stage (cont.)• International Monetary Fund regulates

international finance.• World Bank finances development

projects in new nations.• World Trade Organization regulates

international trade.• Universal Postal Union helps get mail

from country to country.To Learning Objectives

LO 17.1



• Actors on the World Stage (cont.)• North Atlantic Treaty Organization – A

regional organization created in 1949 by nations including the United States, Canada, and most Western European nations for mutual defense and has been expanded.


LO 17.1



• Actors on the World Stage (cont.)• European Union – A transnational

government composed of most European nations to coordinate monetary, trade, immigration, and labor policies, making its members one economic unit.


LO 17.1



• Actors on the World Stage (cont.)• Multinational Corporations are large and

account for more than one-tenth of the global economy and one-third of world exports.

• They have voiced strong opinions about governments, taxes, and business regulations.


LO 17.1



• Actors on the World Stage (cont.)• Nongovernmental Organizations are

groups not connected with governments, such as churches and labor unions, environmental and wildlife groups, and human rights groups.


LO 17.1



• Actors on the World Stage (cont.)• Terrorists operating around the world are

committed to overthrow specific governments.

• Terrorism – Hijack airplanes, assassinations, and bombings.


LO 17.1



• Actors on the World Stage (cont.)• Tourism can affect international relations

and economic system, and it may enhance friendship and understanding among nations.

• Students, immigrants, and refugees carry ideas/ideologies, and demand new public services.


LO 17.1



• The Policymakers• The President is the main force behind

foreign policy.• Chief Diplomat – President negotiates

treaties and make executive agreements.• Commander in Chief – President deploys

American troops abroad.


LO 17.1



• The Policymakers (cont.)• Presidents appoint ambassadors and the

heads of executive departments (with consent of the Senate); accord recognition to other countries; and receive or not receive representatives of other nations.


LO 17.1



• The Policymakers (cont.)• Secretary of State – The head of the State

Department and key foreign policy adviser to the president.

• State Department staffs over 300 U.S. embassies, consulates, and other posts, representing the interests of Americans.


LO 17.1


LO 17.1




• The Policymakers (cont.)• Secretary of Defense – The head of the

Department of Defense and the president’s key adviser on military policy and, as such, a key foreign policy actor.

• Defense Department – Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force together.


LO 17.1



• The Policymakers (cont.)• Joint Chiefs of Staff – A group that

consists of the commanding officers of each of the armed services, a chairperson, and a vice chairperson, and advises the president on military policy.


LO 17.1



• The Policymakers (cont.)• National Security Council was created in

1947 to coordinate foreign and military policies.

• Composed of president’s national security assistant (head), state and defense secretaries, vice president, and president.


LO 17.1



• The Policymakers (cont.)• Central Intelligence Agency – An agency

created after World War II to coordinate American intelligence activities abroad and to collect, analyze, and evaluate intelligence.


LO 17.1



• The Policymakers (cont.)• National Reconnaissance Office uses

imagery satellites to view missile sites and military activities around the world.

• The National Security Agency has electronic eavesdropping capabilities and protects our national security information.


LO 17.1



• The Policymakers (cont.)• Congress shares with president

constitutional authority over foreign and defense policy.

• Congress has sole authority to declare war, raise and organize armed forces, and fund national security activities.


LO 17.1



• The Policymakers (cont.)• Senate must ratify treaties and confirm

ambassadorial and cabinet nominations.• Power of the purse and oversight of

executive branch give Congress considerable clout over defense budget authorizations.


LO 17.1

American Foreign Policy Through the Cold WarLO 17.2: Outline the evolution of and major issues in American foreign policy through the end of the Cold War.

• Isolationism• The Cold War



American Foreign Policy Through the Cold War

• Isolationism• U.S. foreign policy most of its history

whereby it tried to stay out of other nations’ conflicts, particularly European wars.

• Monroe Doctrine – Reaffirmed America’s intention to stay out of Europe’s affairs but warned European nations to stay out of Latin America.


LO 17.2



• Isolationism (cont.)• Entering World War I and then not joining

the League of Nations continued American isolationism.

• Entering World War II and then joining the United Nations put an end to American isolationism.


LO 17.2



• The Cold War• Containment Doctrine – George Kennan

called for United States to isolate Soviet Union, contain its advances, and resist its encroachments by peaceful means if possible or force if needed.

• Truman Doctrine – United States declared it would help other nations oppose communism.


LO 17.2



• The Cold War (cont.)• Cold War – Hostility between the United

States and Soviet Union from end of World War II until the collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern European communist regimes in 1989 and 1991.

• Korean War (1950-1953) – Put containment into practice involving China and North Korea.


LO 17.2



• The Cold War (cont.)• Arms Race – Relationship started in the

1950s between the Soviet Union and United States whereby one side’s weaponry caused the other side to get more weaponry.

• Mutual Assured Destruction – The result of arms race by mid-1960s in which each side had ability to annihilate the other after absorbing a surprise attack.


LO 17.2


LO 17.2




• The Cold War (cont.)• Vietnam War – Johnson sent over 500,000

troops to contain Vietnamese communists.• Nixon waged war in Cambodia and

Vietnam, but negotiated with Vietnamese communists.

• 1973 Peace Treaty ends war, but in 1975 Vietnam was reunited into a single nation.


LO 17.2



• The Cold War (cont.)• The Era of Détente – A policy, beginning

in the early 1970s, that sought a relaxation of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, coupled with firm guarantees of mutual security.


LO 17.2



• The Cold War (cont.)• Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)

was a mutual effort by United States and Soviet Union to limit the growth of their nuclear capabilities, with each power maintaining sufficient nuclear weapons to deter a surprise attack by the other.


LO 17.2



• The Cold War (cont.)• Reagan Rearmament – Proposed a five-

year defense buildup costing $1.5 trillion and defense officials were ordered to find places to spend money.

• Strategic Defense Initiative in 1983 to let computers scan the skies and use high-tech devices to destroy invading missiles.


LO 17.2



• The Cold War (cont.)• Final Thaw in Cold War – Soviet leader

Gorbachev’s changes helped end communist regimes and postwar barriers between Eastern and Western Europe in 1989.

• In 1991, the Soviet Union split into 15 separate nations, and noncommunist governments formed in most of them.


LO 17.2

American Foreign Policy and the War on TerrorismLO 17.3: Explain the major obstacles to success in the war on terrorism.

• The Spread of Terrorism• Afghanistan and Iraq



American Foreign Policy and the War on Terrorism

• The Spread of Terrorism• Terrorism – Use of violence to demoralize

and frighten a nation’s population or government.

• Forms of Terrorism – Bombing of buildings and ships; kidnapping of diplomats and civilians; and assassinating political leaders.


LO 17.3



• The Spread of Terrorism (cont.)• Terrorism is difficult to defend against

because terrorists have the advantage of stealth and surprise, and of a willingness to die for their cause.

• Defend – Better intelligence gathering and security measures, and punishing governments and organizations that engage in terrorist activities.


LO 17.3



• Afghanistan and Iraq• U.S. declared war on terrorism after the 9-

11-2001 attacks.• Bush attacked bin Laden and al Qaeda

and the Taliban regime that had been harboring them.

• The Taliban fell in short order although many suspected members of al Qaeda escaped.


LO 17.3



• Afghanistan and Iraq (cont.)• Axis of Evil – Iran, Iraq, and North Korea

as declared by Bush.• In 2003, a U.S. led coalition removed

Hussein from power.• Win war on terror – End support of

ideology and strategy used by terrorists out to destroy the United States and its allies.


LO 17.3



• Afghanistan and Iraq (cont.)• In 2007, Bush ordered a troop surge in Iraq

to slow violence and let Iraqis get democratic government, train police and defense forces, and engage in national reconciliation of major religious and ethnic groups.

• Obama has been substantially reducing U.S. troop levels.


LO 17.3



• Afghanistan and Iraq (cont.)• Afghanistan goals – Legitimate and

effective governance; relief assistance; and countering the surge in narcotics cultivation.

• In 2009, 30,000 more U.S. troops were send to Afghanistan to help achieve these goals, but success has been elusive.


LO 17.3

Defense PolicyLO 17.4: Identify the major elements of defense policy.

• Defense Spending• Personnel• Weapons• Reforming Defense Policy



Defense Policy

• Defense Spending• Defense spending makes up about one-

fifth of the federal budget, which is $600 billion per year.

• This is more than the next 15 or 20 biggest spenders combined.

• Results – Nuclear superiority, dominant air force, navy with worldwide operations, and power around the globe.


LO 17.4


LO 17.4



Defense Policy

• Personnel• The United States has about 1.4 million

men and women on active duty and about 845,000 in the National Guard and reserves.

• About 300,000 active duty troops are deployed abroad, and many of them serve in Iraq, Afghanistan, Europe, Japan, and South Korea.


LO 17.4


LO 17.4



Defense Policy

• Weapons• Nuclear weapons – Ground-based

intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine launched ballistic missiles, and strategic bombers.

• Stealth bomber costs over $2 billion, and the total cost of building nuclear weapons has been $5.5 trillion.


LO 17.4


Defense Policy

• Weapons (cont.)• Other weapons – Jet fighters, aircraft

carriers, and tanks.• Space-age technology helped win the Gulf

War and topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

• Producing expensive weapons also provides jobs for U.S. workers.


LO 17.4


Defense Policy

• Reforming Defense Policy• Reevaluate weapons systems; make

armed forces lighter, faster, and more flexible; effectively coupling intelligence with an agile military; and use Special Forces to conduct specialized operations like reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counterterrorism actions.


LO 17.4

The New National Security AgendaLO 17.5: Analyze the evolving challenges for U.S. national security policy.

• The Changing Role of Military Power• Nuclear Proliferation• The International Economy• Energy• Foreign Aid



The New National Security Agenda

• The Changing Role of Military Power• Force is often not appropriate for achieving

all goals.• Soft power – Nation persuades others to

do what it wants without force or coercion.• National security hinges as much on

winning hearts and minds as it does on winning wars.


LO 17.5



• The Changing Role of Military Power (cont.)• United States and its allies have used

military force to accomplish humanitarian ends.

• 1999 – Protect ethnic Albanians in Kosovo by bombing Serbs.

• 2010 – Provide food, housing, and medical care in Haiti after a severe earthquake.


LO 17.5



• The Changing Role of Military Power (cont.)• Economic Sanctions – Nonmilitary

penalties imposed on nation.• Penalties – No aid; ban military sales;

restrict imports; or a total trade embargo.• Goals – Stop terrorism, unfair trading,

human rights abuse, and drug trafficking; and promote environmental initiatives.


LO 17.5



• Nuclear Proliferation• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968)

– Nations agreed to not acquire or test nuclear weapons.

• United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea have declared that they have nuclear weapons.

• North Korea and Iran are now developing nuclear weapons and U.S. policymakers are concerned.


LO 17.5


LO 17.5




• The International Economy• Interdependency – Nation actions affect

economic well-being of people in other nations.

• International Monetary Fund is an international organization of 185 countries to stabilize the exchange of currencies and the world economy.


LO 17.5



• The International Economy (cont.)• Tariff – Tax added to imported goods to

raise price.• Agreements have lowered trade barriers –

1993 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and 2005 Central American–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement.


LO 17.5


LO 17.5




• The International Economy (cont.)• Balance of Trade – The ratio of what is

paid for imports to what is earned from exports.

• Balance-of-trade deficit – When more is paid than earned; it was $379 billion in 2009; and it can lead to a decline in the value of a nation’s currency.


LO 17.5



• Energy• Organization of Petroleum Exporting

Countries – Primarily Middle Eastern nations seeking to control the price and amount of oil its members produce and sell to other nations.

• America imports more than half of its annual consumption of oil from other nations, particularly from Middle Eastern countries.


LO 17.5



• Foreign Aid• Congress appropriates less than 1% of

budget for foreign aid in areas of economic development and military assistance.

• U.S. donates more total aid than any other country, it devotes a smaller share of its GDP to foreign economic development than any other developed nation.


LO 17.5

Understanding National Security PolicymakingLO 17.6: Assess the role of democratic politics in making national security policy and the role of national security policy in expanding government.

• National Security Policymaking and Democracy

• National Security Policymaking and the Scope of Government



Understanding National Security Policymaking

• National Security Policymaking and Democracy• Policymakers usually respond when people

hold strong opinions about international relations.

• Separation of powers – President takes the lead on national security matters, but Congress has a central role in matters of international relations.


LO 17.6



• National Security Policymaking and Democracy (cont.)• Pluralism is in international economic

policy – Agencies, members of Congress, and their constituents all pursue their own policy goals and a range of interests are represented in foreign policymaking.


LO 17.6



• National Security Policymaking and the Scope of Government• Demand government action – War on

terrorism; treaty obligations to defend allies; economic interests in an interdependent global economy; and pressing new questions on the global agenda.


LO 17.6



• National Security Policymaking and the Scope of Government (cont.)• National defense – One-fifth of the budget

and more than 2 million employees in the Defense Department.

• Scope of government in national security policy will be great as long as America has political, diplomatic, economic, and military interests in the world.


LO 17.6


LO 17.1Summary

• American Foreign Policy: Instruments, Actors, and Policymakers• The use and potential use of military force,

economic policies, and diplomacy are the main instruments of national security policy.



LO 17.1Summary

• American Foreign Policy: Instruments, Actors, and Policymakers (cont.)• Nations, international and regional

organizations, multinational corporations, nongovernmental organizations, terrorists, and individuals influence American national security policy.



LO 17.1Summary

• American Foreign Policy: Instruments, Actors, and Policymakers (cont.)• President is the main force in national security

policymaking, and is assisted by Departments of State and Defense, CIA, and the intelligence establishment.

• Congress plays an important role in national security policy.



Which of the following organizations was created to help the president coordinate American foreign and military policies?

A. The Department of Defense

B. The National Security Council

C. The State Department

D. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization


LO 17.1


LO 17.2Summary

• American Foreign Policy Through the Cold War• Until the mid-twentieth century, American

foreign policy emphasized keeping a distance from the affairs of other countries, with the notable exception of countries in Latin America.



LO 17.2Summary

• American Foreign Policy Through the Cold War (cont.)• Following World War II, the United States

became locked in an ideological conflict with the Soviet Union and focused its foreign policy on containing communism and Soviet expansion.



LO 17.2Summary

• American Foreign Policy Through the Cold War (cont.)• This competition came to include a nuclear

arms race and U.S. involvement in wars in Korea and Vietnam against communist forces, but never war between the United States and the Soviet Union.



LO 17.2Summary

• American Foreign Policy Through the Cold War (cont.)• There were efforts to relax tensions, but

the Cold War did not end until the breakup of the Soviet Union and liberalization of governments in Eastern Europe.

• The United States maintained an enormous defense capability.



The policy of containment called for the United States to stop the spread of .

A. terrorism

B. détente

C. nuclear weapons

D. communism


LO 17.2


LO 17.3Summary

• American Foreign Policy and the War on Terrorism• The U.S. defense capability has been put

to new use with the war on terrorism, the struggle that is at the top of America’s national security priorities.

• It is difficult to defend against terrorism in an open society.



LO 17.3Summary

• American Foreign Policy and the War on Terrorism (cont.)• Terrorists have the advantage of stealth

and surprise and, often, of a willingness to die for their cause.

• They are also generally decentralized so we cannot defeat them simply by attacking another nation.



LO 17.3Summary

• American Foreign Policy and the War on Terrorism (cont.)• Moreover, winning the war on terrorism

requires political as well as military successes.

• The United States’ wars with Iraq and Afghanistan were motivated by the fight against terrorists.



LO 17.3Summary

• American Foreign Policy and the War on Terrorism (cont.)• However, ensuring legitimate, effective

governance remains difficult, and a terrorist haven has emerged in remote regions of Pakistan.



It is difficult to defend against terrorism because terrorists have the advantage of

A. stealth.

B. surprise.

C. a willingness to die for their cause.

D. all of the above.


LO 17.3


LO 17.4Summary

• Defense Policy• The United States spends about one-fifth

of its budget on national defense, and has 1.4 million men and women in the active duty armed services and another 845,000 on the National Guard and reserves.



LO 17.4Summary

• Defense Policy (cont.)• Modern weapons systems are

sophisticated, expensive, and dangerous, and the United States has entered a number of important agreements to reduce nuclear weapons.



LO 17.4Summary

• Defense Policy (cont.)• Recent reforms in defense policy, intended

to reshape it for changed threats, have placed more emphasis on lighter, faster, and more flexible forces, the more effective use of intelligence, the use of Special Forces, and counterterrorism.



Which of the following is a major element of U.S. defense policy?

A. defense spending

B. personnel

C. weapons

D. all of the above


LO 17.4


LO 17.5Summary

• The New National Security Agenda• United States has great military power, but

many issues facing the world today are not military issues.

• Nuclear proliferation and terrorism present challenges to national security that are not easily met by weaponry alone.



LO 17.5Summary

• The New National Security Agenda (cont.)• Global interdependency in economics,

energy, environment, and other areas reveal new vulnerabilities and additional challenges for national security policy.

• Effective use of foreign aid is also a perennial policy concern.



To succeed, economic sanctions typically have to

A. have broad international support.

B. follow targeted military strikes.

C. have support within the targeted nation.

D. involve the nations of North America.


LO 17.5


LO 17.6Summary

• Understanding National Security Policymaking• There are different opinions over how

much discretion to accord policymakers in national security policy.

• Policies at odds with public’s wishes cannot be sustained.

• Congress can be a crucial check on the executive.



LO 17.6Summary

• Understanding National Security Policymaking (cont.)• Scope of government in national security

policymaking will be substantial as long as America is fighting terrorism, has treaty obligations to defend allies, participates in an interdependent global economy, and must deal with energy and environmental issues.



In recent years, national security policy has contributed to an scope of government.

A. overall reduced

B. average sized

C. expanded

D. under sized


LO 17.6


Text Credits

• Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011: Historical Tables (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2010), Table 3.1.

• Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011: Appendix (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2010), 239.

• CQ Weekly, May 23, 1998. Updated by the authors. Copyright 1998 by CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY INC. Reproduced with permission of CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY INC in the format Textbook via Copyright Clearance Center.

• CQ Weekly, May 23, 1998. Updated by the authors. Copyright 1998 by CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY INC. Reproduced with permission of CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY INC in the format Other book via Copyright Clearance Center.

• U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2010.


Photo Credits

• 551: Robert Clark/Aurora Photos• 557: Robert Arial• 558: Corbis Images• 563T: Bettmann/Corbis• 563B: AP Photos• 579: Corbis/Sygma

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