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The Presidency

Jeffrey Cohen, Fordham University - Bronx
David Nice, Washington State University - Pullman

The President and Foreign Policy Making

End of Chapter Questions


1		Compare the president’s role in treaty making with diplomacy. Over which does Congress seem to have the most influence? How supportive is Congress of the president in these two areas of foreign policy making?



2		How do executive agreements differ from treaties? What is the constitutional or statutory basis for allowing presidents to enter into executive agreements? Why have presidents found executive agreements to be a useful foreign policy making device? How has Congress reacted to presidential use of executive agreements?



3		Why did the founders recognize a difference between declaring and making war? How does this distinction affect the president’s ability to wage war? What can and has Congress done to limit presidential war making powers?



4		How extraordinary is the presidential commitment of U.S. troops abroad? Has the propensity of presidents to commit troops abroad increased over time? Why do presidents commit troops? Do domestic considerations enter into the president’s decision to commit troops?



5		Who are the president’s major foreign policy advisers? How do their positions in government affect the type of advice that they provide to the president? How have their advising roles changed over time?



6		Discuss the different foreign intelligence agencies of the federal government. Why are there so many? How do their roles differ? Are some more important than others?



7		Does the president have advantages in making in making foreign policy over domestic policy? If so, how and why? If not, why not? If he has advantages in making foreign policy over domestic policy, have they remained potent over the years? If not, why not?



8		How is foreign policy crisis decision making different from other types of policy making? What can we do to ensure that presidents make optimal decisions in foreign policy crisis? Do presidents get better at making decisions in foreign policy crisis as they serve in office longer or as they encounter more foreign policy crises?

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