Making Foreign Policy

I. Introduction

A. What is foreign policy?

1) There are many definitions but I think the following provide the clearest idea of the concept:

a.  www.nmlites.org: "Policies of the federal government directed to matters beyond US borders, especially relations with other countries"

b. www.wikipedia.org: "A foreign policy is a set of political goals that seeks to outline how a particular country will interact with the other countries of the world"

 

II. The Elements that Drive Foreign Policy Decisions

A. Three Elements

    1. National Interests

• Security interests
• Economic interests
• Ideological interests

    2. Geopolitics

• Size
• Terrain and climate
• Natural resources
• Location

    3. National Resolve

a. Hard to quantify/hard to define but easy to see in certain cases--Vietnam and U.S.; Afghanistan and USSR; Iraq insurgents and U.S. right now?

b. Tied to the "paradox of unrealized power" concept

III. Conclusion

Concepts

1. National Interests

2. Geopolitics

3. National Resolve