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To many Americans, the chief goal of the nation's foreign policy is

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protection of America's security in an often hostile world.

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Non-state actors

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groups other than nation-states that attempt to play a role in the international system. Terrorist groups are one type of non-state actor

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Isolationism

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avoidance of involvement in the affairs of other nations

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Containment

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a policy designed to curtail the political and military expansion of a hostile power

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Appeasement

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the effort to forestall war by giving in to the demands of a hostile power

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Cold War

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the period of struggle between the United States and the former Soviet Union lasting from the late 1940s to about 1990

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Nation-states

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political entities consisting of a people with some common cultural experience (nation) who also share a common political authority (state), recognized by other sovereignties (nation-states)

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Preventive war

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policy of striking first when a nation fears that a foreign foe is contemplating hostile action

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This emphasis on diplomacy, sanctions, and collective action seemed to characterize the president's responses to three major foreign policy problems encountered by the administration. These were:

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the Russian quasi-annexation of the Crimean area of Ukraine, the Iranian nuclear program, and the North Korean effort to build missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

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America's international economic policies are intended to

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expand employment opportunities in the United States, to maintain access to foreign energy supplies at a reasonable cost, to promote foreign investment in the United States, and to lower the prices Americans pay for goods and services.

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World Trade Organization (WTO)

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international organization promoting free trade that grew out of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; most important international organization for trade promotion

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General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

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international trade organization, in existence from 1947 to 1995, that set many of the rules governing international trade

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North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

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trade treaty among the United States, Canada, and Mexico to lower and eliminate tariffs among the three countries

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In the realm of international environmental policy, the United States supports a number of international efforts to protect the environment. These include:

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These include the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Montreal Protocol

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The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

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an international agreement to study and ameliorate harmful changes in the global environment.

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The Montreal Protocol

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an agreement signed by more than 150 countries to limit the production of substances potentially harmful to the world's ozone layer.

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The United States has a long-standing commitment to human rights and is a party to most major international human rights agreements. These include:

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the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Convention against Torture, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and various agreements to protect children.

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International Religious Freedom Act (1998)

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which calls on all governments to respect religious freedom.

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Bush was decisive in the initiatives he took to define America's national interest for his administration. Examples include:

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revival of the controversial program to develop a nuclear missile shield ("Star Wars"); his abandonment of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, which alienated Russia; changes in policy priorities away from humanitarian and environmental goals and toward goals more specifically within the realm of national security; and turning America's concerns (by degree or emphasis) away from Europe and toward an "Asia-first" policy.

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Bush Doctrine

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foreign policy based on the idea that the United States should take preemptive action against threats to its national security

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The major foreign policy actors in the bureaucracy are

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the secretaries of the departments of State, Defense, and the Treasury; the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), especially the chair of the JCS; and the director of the CIA.

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The National Security Council (NSC)

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It is a "subcabinet" made up of the president, the vice president, the secretary of defense, and the secretary of state, plus others each president appoints; Since 1947 this separate unit in the White House has overseen the vast foreign policy establishment for the purpose of synthesizing all the messages arising out of the bureaucracy and helping the president make his own foreign policy.

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Since the profound shake-up of September 11, two additional key players have been added to the NSC:

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The first of these was the secretary of the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS), The second key player was imposed at the top as the war in Iraq was becoming a quagmire: a director of national intelligence

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

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composed of 22 existing agencies relocated from all over the executive branch to make a more efficient single organization designed to fight international terrorism and domestic natural disasters.

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Director of national intelligence

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to collate and coordinate intelligence coming in from multiple sources and to report a synthesis of all this intelligence to the president, on a daily basis.

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In addition to these top cabinet-level officials, key lower-level staff members have policy-making influence as strong as that of the cabinet secretaries, and occasionally even stronger. These include:

answer

the two or three specialized national security advisers in the White House, the staff of the NSC (headed by the national security adviser), and a few other career bureaucrats in the departments of State and Defense, whose influence varies according to their specialty and to the foreign policy issue at hand.

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A few civilian intelligence agencies are also involved in foreign policy and national security, the most important of which are:

answer

the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

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Although the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, Congress has exercised this power on only five occasions:

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the War of 1812, the Mexican War (1846), the Spanish-American War (1898), World War I (1917), and World War II (1941).

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Executive agreement

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an agreement, made between the president and another country, that has the force of a treaty but does not require the Senate's "advice and consent"

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Other congressional players are the foreign policy, military policy, and intelligence committees:

answer

in the Senate, these are the Foreign Relations Committee, the Armed Services Committee, and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; in the House, these are the Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security Committees and the Armed Services Committee.

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The "foreign policy establishment" is a much larger arena, including what can properly be called the shapers of foreign policy:

answer

a host of unofficial, informal players who possess varying degrees of influence depending on their prestige, reputation, socioeconomic standing, and, most important, the party and ideology that are dominant at a given moment.

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By far the most important category of nonofficial player is the interest group. Different kinds of groups include:

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"single-issue" groups, larger interest groups, sometimes called peak associations, groups with strong attachments to and identification with their national origin countries, interests devoted to human rights, and environmental groups

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Amnesty International

answer

whose exposés of human rights abuses have altered the practices of many regimes around the world.

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The Christian right

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has been a vocal advocate for the human rights of Christians who are persecuted in other parts of the world for their religious beliefs, most notably in China.

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"Greens"

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ecological or environmental group; depend more on demonstrations

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There have been many instruments of American foreign policy, and we can deal here only with those instruments we deem most important in the modern epoch:

answer

diplomacy, the United Nations, the international monetary structure, economic aid and sanctions, collective security, military force, and arbitration.

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Diplomacy

answer

the representation of a government to other governments; Its purpose is to promote national values or interests by peaceful means.

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United Nations (UN)

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an organization of nations founded in 1945 to be a channel for negotiation and a means of settling international disputes peaceably; the UN has had frequent successes in providing a forum for negotiation and, on some occasions, a means of preventing international conflicts from spreading; on a number of occasions, the UN has been a convenient cover for U.S. foreign policy goals

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The 5 permanent members of the Security Council are:

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China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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Which of the following terms best describes the American posture toward the world prior to the middle of the twentieth century?

answer

isolationist

question

Cold War refers to the

answer

the period of struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union between the late 1940s and the late 1980s.

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Which of the following terms describes the idea that the development and maintenance of military strength discourage attack?

answer

deterrence

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In trade policy since World War II, American presidents have generally supported

answer

freer trade.

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Bush Doctrine refers to

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the idea that the United States should take preemptive action against threats to its national security.

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The Constitution assigns the power to declare war to

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Congress.

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An agreement made between the president and another country that has the force of a treaty but requires only a majority vote (not a supermajority) in both houses of Congress for approval is called

answer

an executive agreement.

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The making of American foreign policy during noncrisis moments is

answer

pluralistic, involving a large mix of both official and unofficial players.

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Which of the following statements about the United Nations is not true?

answer

it has a powerful army to implement its decisions.

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Which of the following are important international economic institutions created in the 1940s?

answer

the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank

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Which of the following was dedicated specifically to the economic recovery of Western Europe after World War II?

answer

the Marshall Plan

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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed by the United States,

answer

Canada, and most of Western Europe.

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Which statement best describes the military spending of the United States compared to other countries?

answer

The United States spends significantly more than any other country in the world.

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Fear of a repeat of the economic devastation that followed World War I brought the United States together with its allies (except the USSR) to Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in 1944 to create a new international economic structure for the postwar world. The result was two institutions:

answer

the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (commonly called the World Bank) and the International Monetary Fund.

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International Monetary Fund (IMF)

answer

an institution established in 1944 that provides loans and facilitates international monetary exchange

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North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

answer

an organization, comprising the United States, Canada, and most of Western Europe, formed in 1949 to counter the perceived threat from the Soviet Union

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Bilateral treaties

answer

treaties made between two nations

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In America, the biggest losers from free trade are __________________, whereas the biggest winners are ______________.

answer

workers in certain industries; consumers

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Which of the following two are committees in Congress related to foreign policy?

answer

Foreign Relations Committee Committee on Foreign Affairs

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Military force example

answer

The United States sends a carrier battle group to conduct flight operations during a crisis with Iran over access to the Strait of Hormuz.

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Economic aid example

answer

Australia gives Indonesia money to help the Indonesian government provide basic services to its citizens after a typhoon.

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Arbitration example

answer

Nigeria asks the International Court of Justice to resolve a long-standing dispute it has with a neighboring country.

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Collective security

answer

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization specifies that an attack against one country is an attack against all member nations.

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During the Cold War, the United States had enough nuclear weapons to ensure that they could wipe out the Soviet Union even if the Soviet Union launched a first attack. In turn, the Soviet Union had enough nuclear weapons to ensure that they could wipe out the United States even if the United States launched a first attack. This is an example of which concept?

answer

mutually assured destruction

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In the history of American foreign policy, which came first: American isolationism or American engagement?

answer

isolationism

question

The ______________, located in the ___________ branch, is responsible for synthesizing the messages coming out of the foreign policy establishment to help the president make his or her own foreign policy.

answer

National Security Council; executive

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Which of the following organizations or agreements are primarily related to free trade?

answer

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade North American Free Trade Agreement World Trade Organization

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Which of the following are ways in which Congress can check the power of the president in foreign policy?

answer

fail to ratify a treaty, refuse to confirm a nominee for ambassador, investigate how the president conducts warfare, and provide no funding for a military operation

question

Amnesty International, an association that exposes human rights violations and attempts to influence the United States to curb such abuses, is an example of what type of "nonofficial player" in foreign policy issues?

answer

interest group

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Which president's doctrine said that the United States would use military force to eliminate potential threats before they could be put in motion?

answer

Bush

question

Avoiding involvement in the affairs of other countries is an example of which policy?

answer

isolationism

question

When a country is dealing with a rival nation, there are several options for how to approach the situation. One, called ______________, involves trying to halt the military and physical expansion of the rival nation. Another, called ___________, involves building up one's military to try and discourage the rival nation from attacking.

answer

containment; deterrence

question

International organization examples

answer

United Nations and World Trade Organization

question

Non-state actor example

answer

terrorist

question

Nation-state

answer

Canada

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On which of the following foreign policy priorities does America spend the smallest portion of its budget every year?

answer

humanitarian policies

question

Which federal department is responsible for diplomacy?

answer

Department of State

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Which player is most dominant in establishing American foreign policy?

answer

The president

question

According to the graphic, which is the most likely cause for the pattern of U.S. defense spending since 2000?

answer

The war against terrorism has caused an increase in defense spending

question

Which of the following powers does the president have in foreign affairs?

answer

appoint ambassadors, negotiate treaties, and serve as commander in chief of the armed forces

question

The president can declare war on an enemy nation.

answer

false

question

If you were the president of a developing country and you wanted to get a low-interest loan to build some roads as a way of promoting trade, you might go to the ____________. A few years later, imagine you are facing a massive budget deficit and it looks like your nation might be insolvent. Before you get elected out of office, you might go to the __________________ for an emergency loan.

answer

World Bank; International Monetary Fund

question

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an example of which of the following groups?

answer

international organization

question

Let us say that the nation of Atlantis was trying to develop the ability to manufacture nuclear weapons and the United States did not want them to do so. Order the following possible responses the United States could use, from the one that is likely to be tried first to the one that is likely to be used only as a last resort.

answer

diplomacy, sanctions, military force

question

Suppose that the nations of Gondor and Rohan are having a disagreement over farming rights along their border. Gondor has one of its government officials talk with a government official of Rohan about how they might solve their dispute. This is an example of which of the following methods?

answer

diplomacy

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