Developing A Foreign Policy

 

            The idea of a foreign policy is a broader perspective on a domestic policy. "However, the process of foreign policymaking is much more centralized within the executive branch, and the number of public and private actors involved as far smaller" (Kitznelson, pg. 362). To me this is saying that what the executive branch says goes. According to Kitznelson, the policy before World War II focused on George Washington's farewell address that wanted the people of the future to use their geography to their advantage and find good fortune from it (pg. 353). Since the United States focuses on more than just Americans, the foreign policy needs to focus on other countries values as well. This will help everyone in the country agree somewhat on policy. The military is also a huge determining factor on what the policy says. “Two sets of statistics—military and economic—provide the context for understanding the American policy” (Kitznelson, pg. 350). With the American people understanding that our military personal are pushed to their limits, they can understand that part of the policy will be based on the power the United States has gained from strong army personal. The other context of the policy is based off of the economy. The economy lately has been going through a recession that can impact how well we reflect our policy. Before our recession, I think that the policy reflected our economy better, however when September 11^th happened, our economy hit a down fall because we lost our World Trade Centers. This created a lot of stress on people losing their loved ones and also on using their own money to help others out. Money was a huge factor for the economy, too. There was money spent to transport fire departments to New York, help out families, etc. As this event scared most people, we were able to send our own military troops over to Iraq to fight them for it. (Kitznelson, pg. 353-354).

Katznelson, Ira, Kesselman, Mark, Draper, Alex. (2011). The Politics of Power, Capitalism and Democracy. pgs 250, 251, 281. Norton & Company, New York.

September 11, 2001 tragedy