Theories of American Foreign Policy
and American exceptionalism
Explaining American foreign policy
• Task is infinitively complex.
• Many diverse factors at play that it often difficult to
determine the underlying reason.
• As a result of this complexity, need to adopt theory,
which tell us what to focus on and what to ignore.
• No overarching theory to capture variety sources of
American foreign policy.
• J.N.Rosenau’s (1971) insightful attempt to develop a
(pre)-theoretical framework for identifying the main
sources of (American) foreign policy as a good starting
point.
5 potential sources that influence a
state’s foreign policy ( Rosenau,1971)
1.The External/Systemic Sources
• Events taking place in the realm of
international politics could profoundly impact
the US (i.e. 9/11, China’s rise , Arab “Spring”,
proliferation of nuclear/chemical weapons)
• On any given day numerous developments
take place in the external realm that the US
,as the sole hegemon, needs to respond.
2.Societal (Domestic) Sources
• The non-governmental aspects of a country’s
society.
• The national character and value orientation
• Foreign policy reflects and seeks to promote
the core values (i.e.liberty) and ideology (i.e.
manifest destiny) of the domestic system.
• Desire to promote this ideology around the
world (i.e. war in Iraq).
George W.Bush (May 1,2003)
• “…We have fought for the cause of liberty and for the
peace of the world. Our nation and our coalition are
proud of this accomplishment, yet it is you, the
members of the United States military, who achieved
it... Because of you, our nation is more secure. Because
of you, the tyrant has fallen and Iraq is free.”
3.Governmental Structure
• The Constitutional separation and division of power
between the executive and legislative.
• “An invitation to struggle”
• Number of governmental and non-governmental actors
(i.e. lobby groups in shaping/making foreign policy.)
4.Bureaucratic roles
• The characteristics of the bureaucratic organization
• “Role Theory” : a person’s influence is circumscribed
by the policy-making roles they occupy.
• “ Where you stand depends on where you sit.”
5.Personalities of individuals
• Investigating the characteristics of policy-makers,
particularly the President.
• Individuals’ personality, past experiences, upbringing,
personal convictions – matter greatly.
• Highlighting the personality traits and beliefs of the
President.
Theories of American Foreign Policy
• Want to know which of Rosenau’s sources is
more important than the others.
• Good description not enough, parsimonious
foreign policy theory with an explanatory power.
• Intense debate ( i.e. external vs. internal factors)
to determine the most important source(s) of a
state’s external behavior & explain what states
try to achieve in the external realm and when
they try to achieve it.
One US Foreign Policy, Many Theories
1.Systemic Theories
(Defensive Realism, Offensive realism)
2.Internal,
domestic
theories
(Liberalism,
Marxism)
3.Toward a synthesis: neoclassical realism
4. Constructivism
1.Systemic (Foreign Policy) Theories
• The most important influence is the international system
and specifically the international distribution of power (i.e.
unipolar , bi-polar, multi-polar)
• Defensive/Offensive realism stress upon systemic pressures
play a decisive role.
• Both assume that 1) Anarchy 2) Sovereign states 3)SelfHelp 4) Power as the main currency.
• For both it truism to state that “capabilities (power) largely
determine interests.”
1.1.Defensive Realism
• States are fundamentally security maximizers.
•
In order to ensure survival in anarchical environment, the US
seeks an appropriate amount of power, not more.
• Expansionist/aggressive policies are counterproductive due to
counterbalancing (i.e.SCO ).
• If any other state over-expands, the domestic level is to
blame.
• Considering the US is extraordinarly secure, neo-isolationists
is firmly anchored to the theory of defensive realism.
1.2.Offensive Realism
• Rather than security maximizers, states are
power maximizers.
• The best way to ensure survival is to be the
most powerful state in the system.
• Global hegemony is the highest goal, but not
possible due to “ stopping power of the
water.”
• Favor an “ offshore balancing” grand strategy.
• Primacy as grand strategy position derives
from this approach.
2.Internal, domestic theories
• De-emphasize the utility of system-level
explanations
• Reversing the chain of causation from an
outside-in explanation to an inside-out
explanation.
• Pressures within a states ( elections, public
opinion polls, the domestic economy,
unemployment level, etc.) determine foreign
policy outcome.
2.1. Liberalism
• Given that the US is a liberal state, liberalism is
one of the most prominent theories to explain
its foreign policy.
• The logic of liberalism dictate the US to
reflect/magnify the liberal democratic
character of the American polity.
• Beneficial for the US to have many likeminded liberal states around the world.
• Even though they agree on reflecting domestic
political values, disagreement on the best way.
3 Main Pillars of a liberal theory of
American Foreign Policy
1. Democracy Promotion (i.e.USAID)
2. The Promotion of Free Trade (i.e.WTO)
3. International Institutions (i.e.UN)
2.2.Marxism
• Another inside-out explanation
• Emphasize the economic determinant, the capitalist
economy of the US pressuring on an expansionist
and imperialistic foreign policy.
• The interests of the capitalist class and the large
corporations.
• Promotion of the interests of the capitalist class by
providing a stable international environment for the
expansion of capitalism ( i.e. Open Door policy).
• Domestic needs of the American economy for
markets and cheap sources of raw material, such as
oil.
3.Neoclassical realism
• Combine systemic and domestic factors.
• Look at interaction of systemic and domestic factors.
• Both individual decision makers and domestic politics,
including the governmental structure, matter in
understanding the foreign policy.
4.Constructivism
• The role of ideas and identity
• Identities and national interests are all socially
constructed
• Identity is never self-referential, but rather is
always
relational
and
emerges
by
differentiating oneself from others (i.e. evil
USSR , axis of evil).
• Interests not a function of material gains, but
identities/perceptions/ideas.
• Keen interest in explaining change.
American Exceptionalism
…And I would rather disagree with a case he
[Obama] made on American exceptionalism,
stating that the United States’ policy is “what
makes America different. It’s what makes us
exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to
encourage people to see themselves as
exceptional, whatever the motivation…We are
all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s
blessings, we must not forget that God
created us equal. (Vladimir Putin, NYT,
11.09.2013)
American exceptionalism-1
• Since its founding, the US has thought of itself
as , and been widely perceived to be
exceptional.
• Success makes the US different, but the core
reason for its expectionalism is its intensely
liberal character.
• Indeed, we find this notion of “ American
exceptionalism” throughout US history.
American exceptionalism-2
“ Trusted with the destinies of this solitary
republic of the world, the only monument of
human rights, and the sole depository of the
sacred fire of freedom and self-government,
from hence it is to be lighted up in other
regions of the earth, if other regions of the
earth shall ever become susceptible of its
benign influence.” ( Thomas Jefferson)
American exceptionalism-3
American exceptionalism was tied to the idea
of Manisfest Destiny, a term used in the 1840s
to promote the acquisition of much of what is
now the Western United States (the Oregon
Territory, the Texas Annexation, and the
Mexican Cession of California and New Mexico
and adjacent areas).
American Progress (John Gast,1872)
• The claim that the US is exceptional is highly
charged
with
contentious
ideological
connotations.
• In contemporary word politics, it means very
different things to different people. For some
it is a vision, for others a nightmare.
…disagree with a case he [Obama] made
on American exceptionalism, stating that
the United States’ policy is “what makes
America different. It’s what makes us
exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to
encourage people to see themselves as
exceptional, whatever the motivation…We
are all different, but when we ask for the
Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that
God created us equal. (Vladimir Putin,
NYT, 11.09.2013)
Thanks