Q: Who are the main actors in U.S. foreign policy?
A: The President, Congress, State Department, Department of Defense, National Security Council, intelligence agencies (CIA, NSA), and public opinion or interest groups.
Q: What are the President’s powers in foreign policy?
A: Conducts diplomacy, negotiates treaties, serves as commander in chief, issues executive agreements, and makes rapid decisions during crises.
Q: What are Congress’s powers in foreign policy?
A: Declares war, controls military funding, ratifies treaties (Senate), regulates foreign commerce, and provides oversight.
Q: What is an executive agreement?
A: An international agreement made by the President that does not require Senate approval. It is faster than a treaty but can be reversed by future administrations.
Q: What is the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF)?
A: A law passed by Congress allowing the President to use military force without a formal declaration of war, used for conflicts like Afghanistan and Iraq.
Q: What does the War Powers Resolution (1973) require?
A: The President must notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops abroad and withdraw them after 60 days unless Congress authorizes continued action.
Q: What is “MAD” (Mutually Assured Destruction)?
A: A Cold War nuclear strategy where two nuclear-armed states deter each other by guaranteeing devastating retaliation, preventing nuclear war.
Q: What caused the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)?
A: The Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba in response to U.S. missiles in Turkey and to protect Castro regime, escalating Cold War tensions.
Q: What is containment?
A: The U.S. Cold War strategy to prevent the spread of communism, shaping alliances, foreign aid, and military interventions from 1947 to 1991.
Q: What is deterrence?
A: A strategy to prevent enemy aggression by threatening severe consequences, relying on credibility and clear signaling.
Q: What was the Cold War (1947-1991)?
A: A prolonged ideological and geopolitical rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, featuring nuclear arms competition, proxy wars, and space rivalry.
Q: What is U.S. isolationism?
A: A policy of avoiding foreign alliances and wars, dominant in the 19th century and after WWI, ending after Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Q: What caused the decline of U.S. isolationism?
A: Global threats in the 1930s and the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, leading to a shift toward internationalism.
Q: What is internationalism in U.S. foreign policy?
A: A post-WWII approach involving global institutions, alliances like NATO, and leadership in world affairs, replacing isolationism.
Q: What is the War Powers Resolution often challenged by Presidents?
A: Presidents argue it limits their constitutional authority as commander in chief.
