Exam 1 American Foreign Policy

3 primary paradigms in international relations.
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3 primary paradigms in international relations.
Realism
Liberalism
Constructivism
Realism
nation states are the main actors in international politics. nation-states are unitary, geographically based actors in an anarchic international system with no authority above capable of regulating interactions between states as no true authoritative world government exists. It assumes that sovereign states are the primary actors, act in their own self-interest.
Liberalism
A state should make its internal political philosophy the goal of its foreign policy. State preferences, rather than capabilities, are the primary determinant of the states behavior. Allows for plurality in state actions, interaction between states is not limited to the political/security, but also economic/cultural.
Constructivism
international politics is shaped by persuasive ideas, collective values, culture, and social identities." Constructivism argues that international reality is socially constructed by cognitive structures which give meaning to the material world
Examples in history of unipolarity, bipolarity, and multipolarity.
Unipolar - post- cold war
Bipolar - Cold war
multipolar - 18th century Europe
Hegemony
One nation-state exerts controlling influence over other countries and societies that falls short of formal political authority
Empire
A form of domination by a world power that includes direct control over the domestic and foreign policies of other political entities.
Unipolar
A global power structure where one nation-state maintains a predominant share of the economic, military and other resources needed to advance its interests in the interstate system
Costs for US global engagement
i. Global power projection difficult to maintain
ii. Decreasing returns for protection, trade
iii. Imperial overstretch
iv. Animosity toward US power
v. Globalization = American Expansion?
Benefits for US global engagement
i. Maintain stability in global system
ii. Promoting global economic development
iii. Hegemonic stability theory
iv. Advocate US interests
According to Hook, what is the paradox of America's world power?"in seeking to sustain its global primacy, the US is increasingly constrained by the forces that propelled its rise to global predominance. "What are the four levels of analysis we discussed in the course?Systemic Domestic Bureaucratic IndividualSystemic Level of analysisinterstate, power and capabilities of other countries, anarchic systemDomestic Level of Analysiscivil society, public opinion, interest groups, social movements, mediaBureaucratic Level of analysisgovernment interactions, problems of bureaucracy, coordination, and institutional control.Individual Level of Analysispsychological factors, bounded rationality, imperfect info, group pressureWaltz's 1st imageIndividual Level - Primarily focuses on executive leader, cognitive limitations, belief systems, personality traits, differences between elites and mass publicWaltz's 2nd imageDomestic i. Focus on state specific characteristics, states are fields or political spaces, state is not coherent, public opinion, media coverage, interest groups, two level gamesWaltz's 3rd imageSystemic - External environment, constraints and opportunities, treats state as a black box or billiard ball, internal characteristics of the state don't matterWhat is the key assumption of the international world at the systemic level?Anarchy assumption in a world of scarcityWhat are the principal characteristics of constructivism?Norms Discourse LegitimacyWhat does the democratic peace theory tell us about the world and what key factor is missing from the "theory"?It says that liberal democracies have never made war on one another and have fewer conflicts among themselves.`In the context of constructivism, what is identity and how does it operate for a state?- Inescapable dimension of being, gender - Western, nationalism - construct of the state in pursuit of legitimacyDiscoursegives meaning to social kinds, means by which ideas shape reality and spread among peopleHow does discourse shape the U.S. relationship with North Korea?How we characterized North Korea as an "axis of evil", negative public opinion, allows US to take aggressive actions against.How is discourse important to the United States' fight against Daesh?Frame as one of moderate Muslims against extremists, not west against Muslims, Daesh wants the opposite.Describe how rationalists (e.g., rational choice theory) describe rationality.Feasible set of all courses of action, casual structure of situation, actors rank feasible options, order preferences.What is affect?Emotion, empathy - reading others emotions - Affect as info - somatic markers - Affect as motivation - Damasio's patients and restaurants.How can emotion or affect improve the rationality of behavior? Discuss an example from the lecture.Without emotion and empathy people lose rationality - Prefrontal cortex damage - can remember facts, do calculations, often fail at keeping commitments, holding job, being trustworthyCharacteristics of System 1Fast, simultaneous, automatic, effortless, associative, slow-learning, emotionalCharacteristics of System 2Slow, serial, controlled, effortful, rule governed, flexible, neutralHow do framing effects operate?Disease is expected to kill 600 i. Program A - 200 will be saved - RISK AVERSE ii. Program B - 1/3 probability 600 saved, 2/3 no one saved iii. Program A'' - 400 will die iv. Program B'' - 1/3 probability no one will die, 2/3 probability 600 will die - ACCEPT RISK All programs are the same but framed differently.What are the principle ideas behind prospect theory?a. Perception is reference dependent b. Risk aversion in domain of gains c. Risk acceptance in domain of losses d. Endowment effectWho is ISIL? other names?a. Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant b. ISIS - Islamic state of Iraq and Syria c. Daesh - derogatory termAccording to Jervis, what are two means by which we can test whether or not a leader matters?a. A standard Wald test b. Nonparametric Rank test OR c. Political Skill d. PersonalityUnderstand "Only Nixon could go to china"a. Nixon, as a republican with aggressive anti-communism views, he was able to visit china without being criticized from being soft on communism. The US at that point refused to recognize china's government as legitimate and china viewed the US as its top enemy.What are the reasons Jervis offers that leaders might not matter?a. There are many circumstances and choices available no matter who the leader is. b. Leaders are all drawn from a similar pool of people.What are the key foreign-policy powers that the president enjoys?a. Directing the conduct of war b. Signing treaties and international agreements c. Appointing cabinet secretaries, ambassadors d. Conducting diplomacyWhat is the difference between executive agreements and treaties?Senate approval is not required for executive agreements. Treaties are rare.What are the primary constraints on presidential power with regard to foreign-policy formation and implementation?a. International and global system - determines the type of environment in which policies must be made b. Domestic political environment - constrains range of options c. Personal limitations - psychology, time, and resources.Who plays the "two-level game," and what is the fundamental idea?Two level game is international negotiations between states that consists of simultaneous negotiations at both the domestic and international level. States play the two level gameUnderstand Iran Deal and its relevance.The Iran Nuclear Deal was an executive agreement that congress attempted to legislatively block, 47 republican senators sent a letter to Iranian leadership saying they should not agree to the deal. This shows how a two level fame was occurring because the president was negotiating with Iran while also attempting to negotiate with congress back homeUnderstand the situation in SyriaThere are many rebel groups that are fighting to overthrow the Assad Regime, ISIS is one of the most prominent. There is a large amount of in fighting between rebel groups that has allowed Assad forces to continue to hold off the rebels even with the support of the US. Russia has been backing the Assad regime while the US condemns ISIS and Assad while backing the moderate rebels.Understand Zika and its importance.a. The Zika virus is an illness that has gained a foothold in south America, specifically Brazil. Recently links have been suggested between birth defects and zika virus. The virus itself is not dangerous to normal healthy adults but when a pregnant woman is infected, there are disastrous consequences for the fetus. It is mainly a mosquito borne illness but there have been cases of it passed between sexual partners. b. The Olympic games are being held in Brazil this summer, during the season of high mosquitos. Large numbers of people from all over the world will convene in brazil and possibly take the disease back to their home countries. While the virus has a low virulence, it is very possible for travelers to bring mosquitos back with them to their home country and spread the disease further.Synthesize the movie "Thirteen Days" with what we learned in classThe Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 where the USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, threatening the continental US. Perhaps the most important theory here is the idea of leadership. Had someone other than Kennedy been president, it is conceivable that there could have been a major conflict, perhaps even a nuclear exchange!Strategies used in Thirteen Days and who wanted them.a. Blockade - this was setting up a perimeter around Cuba and not letting any ships pass through without being inspected. This prevented more missiles from entering and gave them time to speak with Russia. JFK went with this option b. Full Scale Invasion with airstrikes - this removed all missiles from Cuba but also started a war that easily could've led to a full scale nuclear war. The generals wanted to invade. c. Airstrikes with possibility of invasion - similar to above d. Diplomatic talks - although this was the "safest option" it allowed the missiles to be finished and fully operational. No one considered this option muchWhat are characteristics of the bureaucratic politics model, according to Hook?A model of policy making that emphasizes inherent conflicts of interest among government agencies. The state is perceived as an arena struggle rather than a unitary actor.What is the organization process model?A model of decision making characterized by standard operating procedures and fragmented centers of authority that hinders unified, consistent and effective government policies.What are the three primary types of intelligence?a. HUMINT - CIA, DIA - consists of interogations and conversation. It gathers intelligence by person to person contact. b. SIGINT - NSA - Signals intelligence - the interception of signals whether between people or electronic signals. c. GEOINT - NGA - Geospatial intelligence, satellites and drones.Why is intelligence useful for the national decision-making process?a. It gives hard evidence for decision making. In situations such as the invasion of Iraq, a lack of intelligence led to invalid information and a preemptive invasion.Was the 2003 Iraq War the product of intelligence failures? What is your assessment and what is your evidence?Yes it was, most information leading up to the invasion was from one faulty source and none of it was backed up from valid intelligence. WMDs did not exsist in Iraq and there was nothing that linked Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda or 9/11. But the general public and the administration believed this and chose to invade. It was quickly found that none of this was the case.What is groupthink?Groupthink is where members of a group all display a unity of thought in decision making. Members striving for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action.Antecedent conditions of groupthink.i. Decision makers: a cohesive group ii. Structural fautls of organization - lack of tradition of impartial leadership, methodical procedures, homogeneity of members. iii. Provactive situational contex - high stress, temporailiy low self esteem from recent failures, excessive difficulties, moral dilemmas.Symptoms of groupthink.i. Overestimation of groups power and morality ii. Closed mindedness iii. Pressure towards uniformityWhat are the factors of crisis decision making?Short timeline, heightened stress, occur at midpoint, between peace and war.What percentage of the U.S. population is conceived as the "attentive public"?15% this is the part of the population that pays attention to foreign affairs and has the knowledge to make reasonable decisions but they do not have any influence.What is the mass public?The mass public is the remaining 85% who have neither interested nor influence in foreign affairs.What is the delegate model?The delegate model is when elected officials, no matter their opinions, represent what the population who elected them would like.What is the trustee model?Trustee model is putting faith in your elected official to make decisions based on their knowledge and experience.What was the Almond-Lippmann consensus?a. Began in 1950s, ublic opinion doesn't matter because there is no sable coherent public opinion. b. Almond - most important problem is only international issues during war on crisis c. Lippmann - public irration, dangerous. d. Supports trustee modelGive two historical examples of U.S. presidents' paying attention to public opinion.- Clinton was reluctant to get involved in Rwanda after the PR disaster in Somalia - During the Vietnam War, presidents changed draft laws and eventually withdress from the enormously unpopular conflict.What three factors must be present for someone to express a coherent foreign-policy attitude in voting?Availability Accessibility DifferentiabilityAvailabilityone has coherent beliefs or attitudes, sufficient information to develop this.Accessibilityone's ability to use these beliefs and attitudes at the time of decision making.Differentiabilityvariation in candidate's policies that allow voters to distinguish between them.What are the three levels of group identity?a. Group membership - objective inclusion in a group, does not require internalized sense of membership, social class, race, ethnic categories b. Group Identification - a more restrictice, subjective, internalized sense of group belonging - membership is a precursor c. Social identity - involves incorporation of group membership into ones self concept, value and emotional significance of membership.What is self-categorization theory?The formation and development of a social identity, emergence of group conformity, members shift back and forth between individual and social idenety. A cognitive version of social identity theory.What is social identity?Social idenetity theory emphasizes importance of symbolic concerns to development of group cohesion.What effect has gender been found to often have on one's foreign-policy preferences?Men are usually more aggressive, more likely to take military action, possibly caused by traditional gendered social roles, biology - testosterone, and women and children are often harmed more by warfare.What are the social identities discussed in class?Race Age Wealth ReligionHerrmann, Isernia, and Segatti (2009) proposed a three-dimensional model of national identity. What were the three dimensions, and how did the findings of the study speak to our popular conception of nationalism?a. National attachment - degree to which individuals define themselves in national terms. They feel as though they belong to a nation and this membership defines in an important way who they are. b. Culturalism - the content of the nation, belief that the boundaries of the nation are defined by cultural markers, IE ability to speak English, believe in one of the judeo-christian religions, born to an American parent, adop cultures of America. c. National chauvinism - nations status compared to other, more emotional than cognitive, when members feel especially that their nation is vastly superior to othersWhat is the ostensible purpose of civil disobedience?To draw attention to injustice and foster change.What is the Israel Lobby?Possibly the most influential lobbying group. It has influenced US foreign policy to be highly supportive of Israel, which has led to increased animosity toward the US in many Arab/Muslim nations.