Executive Agencies
Department of Defense:
Largest of the agencies involved: more than 2
million people, and consumes about 1/5 of the
annual budget. In both terms declined in the
1990s, but recently experienced an upturn.
During the Cold War was very influential, as the
rivalry with the Soviet Union was seen in mostly
military terms. With the end of the Cold War its
influence diminished as more emphasis is placed
on the economic aspects of foreign relations.
Executive Agencies
Currently it is experiencing a resurgence, as
the importance of traditional national
security has increased. But it still shares
important functions with other agencies in
ways not approached during the Cold War:
Example: Department of Homeland
Security
Executive Agencies
The position of Secretary of Defense has almost
always been a managerial position, and this has
been even more true after the Cold War with the
cut in defense resources. Thus institutionally
strong, but its representatives in terms of foreign
policy not necessarily strong.
Rumsfeld: a veteran administrator who has strong
ideological views, but must compete with the Sec.
Of State, NSA, and V.P. in articulating broad
policy.
Executive Agencies
Organization:
Civilian control
Reorganized during Clinton administration to
mirror in part the organization of the State
Department so it could better compete: offices for
regional security, economics, environment, etc.
Also reorganized to give the Secretary greater
control over the services.
Executive Agencies
Each service has a secretary (of army, navy, air
force, marines, coast guard) and a chief of staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff: heads of all the staffs of the
uniformed services. Have direct access to the
President, even though technically under Sec. Of
Defense.
Rivalries: between civilians and uniformed
employees; among services; between service
heads and Joint Chiefs of Staff
Executive Agencies
Interests and Problems:
 1990s: how to provide security during a time of
downsizing; now, how to adapt to a new
definition of war that involves non-state actors
 how to identify threats when the old bipolar
world structure is gone
 how to carry out tasks like that drug interdiction,
peacekeeping, nation-building, and humanitarian
missions.
Executive Agencies
Central Intelligence Agency:
Created by the National Security Act of 1947 as
the first peacetime civilian intelligence agency.
A response to the onset of the Cold War and the
lack of intelligence facilities with the dismantling
of the Office of Strategic Services after the war.
Executive Agencies
Is an independent, cabinet level agency.
Headed by the Director of Central
Intelligence, who has direct access to the
President, but is also technically under the
National Security Advisor. Responsible
for coordinating all intelligence activities.
Executive Agencies
Military Intelligence: intelligence arms that are
attached to each of the services.
National Security Agency: a defense-controlled
intelligence agency responsible for intercepting
and decoding electronic signals, and to prevent
other countries from intercepting our signals.
Defense Intelligence Agency: created to coordinate
intelligence and analysis from the service
intelligence arms and provide the Sec of Defense
with an impartial analysis.
Intelligence Agencies
Several cabinet departments also have
intelligence-gathering offices,
Energy (nuclear weapons),
Treasury (economic, counterfeiting, firearms),
FBI (counterintelligence)
State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and
Research: analyzes raw intelligence from
State and other sources.
Functions of Intelligence
Agencies
Functions of Intelligence agencies:
Gather information, from human,
documentary, visual, and electronic
sources.
Interpret and analyze information for purposes
of discovering intentions, possible actions,
motivations, and political, economic and
military capabilities of other countries.
Functions of Intelligence
Agencies
Uncover possible crises before they occur,
and create information necessary to deal
with them. Weak, however, in
retrospective analysis, and often not
accurate in forecasting.
Clandestine activities meant to further the
national interest, but damaging if done
publicly.
Agencies
National Security Council:
Headed by the National Security Advisor, who is
responsible for all information and analysis
having to do with national security. Is usually
closer to the president that secs of defense, state,
or director of cia. Usually is someone with
experience in State or Defense, or an academic
Council itself consists of President, VP, Secretaries
of Defense, State, DCI, as well as other selected
cabinet members.
Agencies
Staff is used to coordinate intelligence, sometimes to
gather information, and mostly to create policy
options in the national security area.
Aspects of national security: threats of violence
and terrorism, economic activity, environmental
threats, problems with alliances or prospects of
opposing alliances.
Agencies
State Department
Nominally the most important foreign relations
agency. Headed by Secretary of State, who is
supposed to be the President’s chief foreign
relations advisor.
Power, however, depends on the situation. Some
Secretaries have been given the position as a
payoff and aren’t taken seriously. Others are
eclipsed by very strong National Security
advisors.
State
Perceived problems:
Liberalism (or conservatism) of career foreign
service members. Always considered too elitist.
Bureaucratically complicated, therefore slow and
institutionally conservative. Timid and
unimaginative
Very small in budget (about 1/20 of DoD) and
employees (1% of DoD)
State
Secretary even more torn than other cabinet officers.
Is charged with providing President with advice,
but also must be close to the bureaucracy. Often
must make a choice that limits effectiveness:
If stays around WH, then loses effectiveness in
leading the department and inflict a loss of
confidence and morale in the employees
If stays in Foggy Bottom, loses influence in WH and
perceived as having been “captured” by the State
bureaucracy.
State
Structure:
Deputy Secretary: day to day manager
Undersecretaries: in functional departments:
political affairs; global affairs; economics,
business and agriculture; international security
and arms control; and management.
Assistant Secretaries: in charge of bureaus.
16 are functional: Human Rights; Intelligence and
Research; Legislative Affairs; Public Relations,
etc.
State
6 are geographic and have the most impact in terms
of policymaking
Desk Officers: staff in charge of particular countries.
Career officers.
Embassies, Consulates, Missions: headed by a
political appointee, but staffed by career
professionals. Day to day contacts with foreign
governments.
State
Foreign Service:
The professional body of state department
professionals. Entered by competitive
examination, and remain in it only by
proving oneself worthy of advancement in
rank.
Tends to see itself as an intellectual elite, and
thus is insular in its contacts and views.
State
Believes, as with old world diplomats, that the
trained generalist is superior to the more
rigid and exact knowledge of the specialist.
Culture tends toward conformity, consensus,
avoidance of conflict and controversy, and
other hallmarks of diplomacy, even in
policy debates
State
Influence of the State Department:
Has eroded especially since the end of
World War II:
Cold War international environment: called
for change and imaginative policymaking,
which the culture of the Foreign Service
was not equipped to deal with.
State
Cold War politics: lacked an internal constituency,
and thus an easy target for those looking for
scapegoats for early Cold War setbacks (China).
Has never really recovered.
Need for different policies and sources of
information: Much of Cold War policymaking
focused on national security and the military,
while the information needed for that
policymaking did not come from formal contacts
as before, but clandestine or technical sources.
State
Contemporary Influence:
As molders of policy: still generate important
recommendations and analyses, and manage
routine affairs. But in most important areas is
mostly eclipsed by NSC, CIA, DoD, as well as
Congress and President.
As providers of information: must share this role
with the various intelligence agencies and with
WH bodies.
State
Creators of Personal Diplomacy: still
important for day to day affairs, but greater
mobility of President, other important
executive officers, and members of
Congress means that most important
contacts are not made by State.