Foreign Policy: Crash Course Government and Politics #50

Summary

What Foreign Policy Includes

Foreign policy is the set of policies shaping the United States’ relations with other countries and foreign entities. It covers:

• Diplomacy
• Military and national security
• International human rights
• Economic policy, including trade and energy
• Environmental policy

The video describes foreign policy as highly consequential because it can affect people worldwide, yet less visible to many Americans, except during wars. It is also presented as one of the least democratic areas of government, since decisions are often made by the president and specialized officials rather than through broad public participation.

Main Goals and Priorities

The video identifies three broad goals:

1. Security — the leading priority

   • Security once focused mainly on defending against invasion. It now also includes energy, transportation, cybersecurity, food supplies, and terrorism.
   • U.S. policy was relatively isolationist early in the country’s history; George Washington warned against foreign entanglements.
   • The World Wars drew the United States into greater international involvement. During the Cold War, long-range weapons led to a strategy of deterrence: maintaining enough military strength to discourage an attack.
   • The video says deterrence is less suited to newer threats such as terrorism. Since 2001, U.S. policy has included a global war on terror and, in some cases, preemptive war intended to prevent potential threats.
   • Military force is visible but costly in lives and money. Public support often declines when conflicts become prolonged, so the video presents force as generally a last resort.

2. Economic prosperity

   • U.S. economic foreign-policy goals include expanding opportunities for American businesses, encouraging foreign investment, maintaining access to foreign energy, and promoting trade.
   • The United States participates in international trade institutions and agreements, supports lower tariffs through trade arrangements, and has taken part in regional agreements such as NAFTA.

3. Making the world a better place

   • The United States participates in some international human-rights treaties but has a complicated relationship with international law and institutions. The video cites the International Criminal Court as an example of an institution the United States has not joined, partly because of concerns about sovereignty.
   • The United States may support peacekeeping and security through coalitions or NATO rather than usually placing its own soldiers in U.N. peacekeeping missions.
   • Environmental policy is both domestic and international because environmental problems cross borders. The video notes that the United States has participated less in some global environmental initiatives than other nations and that U.S. policy often favors economic growth over environmental protection.

Overall, the video presents the formal priority order of U.S. foreign policy as security first, economics second, and improving the world third.

How Foreign Policy Is Made

• The president is presented as the central figure. The Constitution gives the president diplomatic responsibilities, including receiving ambassadors and negotiating treaties. Presidents also have prominent direct contact with foreign leaders and can shape agreements.
• Federal agencies and bureaucrats handle much of the ongoing work:
  • The State Department leads diplomatic efforts.
  • The Defense Department and intelligence agencies contribute security expertise and information.
• Congress has a more limited but important role:
  • The Senate has the constitutional power to ratify treaties.
  • Congress controls government spending, including substantial defense spending.
  • Committees can hold hearings and provide expertise, though the video argues that reelection pressures limit lawmakers’ time for foreign affairs.
  • Congress may become more involved when an issue attracts intense public attention.
• Executive agreements can allow presidents to pursue international arrangements without the same treaty-ratification process. The video’s broader point is that these arrangements can be easier to advance than treaties.
• Interest groups can shape the agenda and lobby on particular issues, but they usually do less of the detailed policymaking:
  • Business groups may support trade deals, while labor groups may oppose them.
  • Ethnic, human-rights, environmental, and other issue-based groups may lobby or organize public campaigns.
  • The video says groups focused on a narrow issue tend to be more effective, though it can be difficult to identify major policy shifts caused by some advocacy efforts.

Main Takeaway

Foreign policy combines security, economic interests, diplomacy, human rights, and environmental concerns. Because international decisions require reliable commitments and can involve serious risks, the video argues that presidents and expert agencies play an unusually large role. This can make policy more predictable, but it also makes foreign policy less directly democratic than many domestic policy areas.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Speaker: Craig, the host and narrator. No interviewees or other distinct speakers appear in the subtitles.
• Production and support sources credited: Crash Course, PBS Digital Studios, and Voqal.
• Institutions and agreements discussed: The U.S. Constitution; the U.S. State and Defense Departments; the CIA, NSA, and DHS; Congress and the Senate; the United Nations; NATO; the World Trade Organization; the International Criminal Court; and NAFTA.
• Other people referenced: George Washington and John Green.