William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

The tools of foreign policy 637

Inside the UN, the Security Council, a group of 15 nations (permanent members

Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States, plus 10 rotating nations), makes

the most important UN decisions, particularly those involving its military missions.

The UN General Assembly, in which each nation has one vote, debates and votes on

other concerns.

“Why

Should

I Care?”

It may look to you like foreign policy is all about what the president wants. However,

for the most part, the same kinds of people (in many cases, the same people) who

influence domestic policy choices also shape America’s foreign policy—including elected

officials, interest groups, and the public at large. The president is a key player in making

foreign policy choices, but he or she is far from being the only voice that matters.

The tools of foreign policy

Now that we know the key players in foreign policy making, what are the tools and

methods these players use to implement policy?

Diplomacy

Diplomacy has often been a limited but useful foreign policy tool. The process of

diplomacy involves using personal contact and negotiations with national leaders

and representatives to work out international agreements or persuade other nations

to change their behavior. Sometimes these efforts involve the threat of military action

or economic sanctions, or incentives such as economic assistance or other forms of

aid. The United States may participate directly in such efforts or mediate between the

parties in a dispute. When two countries refuse to meet face-to-face, U.S. diplomats

may take part in shuttle diplomacy, in which they meet separately with each country’s

representatives to convey the other country’s proposals and counterproposals.

For example, the efforts of American and Russian diplomats were instrumental in

establishing a brief cease-fire in Syria in 2016 and in getting both sides of the conflict to

allow convoys carrying relief supplies to enter besieged areas of the country—although

this agreement had little impact on the larger conflict.

Diplomacy has its limits. The various parties in a conflict have to be willing to make

a deal and to accept American efforts to negotiate. In the case of Syria, attempts to build

on the cease-fire deal were stalled by U.S.–Russia conflicts in other areas and by the

Syrian government’s belief that it could win the conflict on the battlefield. Moreover,

diplomatic interventions require political support. In his public statements, President

Trump has argued that America’s goals in the Syrian conflict are limited to defeating the

ISIL terrorist organization, meaning that ending the civil war is not an American goal.

The makers of foreign policy may also simply decide that diplomatic negotiations

are not worth the effort. By increasing the defense budget, keeping many senior State

Department positions unfilled, pushing career diplomats to retire, and withdrawing

from efforts to negotiate international agreements, the Trump administration has

signaled that it is less interested than its predecessors in diplomacy as a tool of foreign

EXAMINE THE WAYS

AMERICAN FOREIGN

POLICY IS IMPLEMENTED

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