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This graph shows that across the globe in 2012, the U.S. spent 39% of all money spent on military expenses. The next highest amount was China, who only spent 9.5%. Following Russia, the UK, and Japan, the next 10 countries combined spent 21.2%, still less than just the United States alone.

Foreign Policy Today: Some Mind-Blowing Statistics

Today, the United States sets aside a ridiculous amount of the nation's budget for military spending. The United States spends more on our military than the 15 next highest spending countries combined. A lot of the money recently has been spent in Iraq; in 2008, the Pentagon spent more money every five seconds in Iraq than the average American's yearly income.

A Brief History of American Foreign Policy

Linkage Institutions

The first theory that the United States used for foreign policy was laid out by George Washington and is known as isolationism. This plan meant that America would not become involved with any foreign affairs. However, this policy was abandoned just in time for World War 1. After that, the U.S. tried to go back to isolationism once again, only to end up in yet another world war. Following World War 2, the United States was in quite a foreign entanglement and would never possibly return to isolationism. The end of World War 2 led America right into the Cold War, a time of intense political tension between the U.S. and the communist Soviet Union. This set off several other wars, such as with Korea and Vietnam. Most recently, the U.S. has been fighting the war on terror, attacking many middle eastern countries such as Iraq. Sorry to let you down, George Washington, but the United States is no longer an isolationist nation.

There are numerous linkage institutions that have effectively promoted their ideas and impacted U.S. foreign policy. Some examples include but are not limited to:

  • the media
  • interest groups:
  • American Israel Public Affairs Committee
  • African-American Lobby in Foreign Policy
  • Cuban-American Lobby
  • US Global Leadership Coalition
  • American Israel Public Affairs Committee

Important Vocabulary

foreign policy- policy that decides how a nation will interact with other nations. In the United States, the president is the chief initiator of foreign policy.

United Nations- an intergovernmental organization created after World War 2 in an effort to keep peace around the world.

isolationism- a plan for foreign policy that George Washington warned the US to stick to. It is the theory that the country should stay out of other nations' conflicts, especially those of European countries. The nation followed this policy until World War 1.

More Vocabulary

containment- American foreign policy after World War 2. Aimed to "contain" communism to the Soviet Union so that it would not spread to other nations.

Cold War- a time of high tension between the US and the USSR. Technically lasted from the 1950s to the 1990s but did not involve military action.

détente- foreign policy in the 1970s that aimed to ease tensions between the United States and Soviet Russia

interdependency- the idea that many nations depend on each other economically

An In-Depth Example : The American Israel Public Affairs Committee

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is a pro-Israel lobby group that has been named one of the most influential groups in influencing foreign policy with Israel. A major success that this group has had is that they also lobby for financial aid from the U.S. government to Israel, which makes Israel the largest recipient of U.S. financial aid since World War 2. It is estimated that since World War 2, the United States has aided Israel with over $108 billion. AIPAC lobbies to Congress to give money to Israel to ensure that the nation is able to defend itself against war.

America's Reactions to Foreign Policy

People are usually opposed to foreign policy that creates war or sends many people into the military overseas. Democrats are usually opposed to high amounts of military spending, while Republicans favor defense spending. The most controversial foreign policy occurred during the time of the Vietnam War. Much of the American population openly opposed the war and protested frequently. A similarly opposed war was the war on terror in Iraq. Statistics show that the majority of Americans believe that the initial invasion of Iraq was a mistake. On another note, many American do not support the United Nations. It is sometimes seen as a useless institution that tries to solve world issues that are unable to be solved.

Key Policies and Who Makes Them

Congress is mainly responsible for foreign policy because they have the power to declare war. However, the president also plays a huge role in deciding foreign policy because he is the Commander in Chief of United States Armed Forces. Other than policies that were declaring war, there are some major foreign policies that have been enacted by Congress:

  • War Powers Act of 1973
  • Iraq Resolution
  • United Nations Participation Act
  • Foreign Military Sales Act of 1971
  • Détente

This figure shows U.S. military expenditures from the earliest times of the nation. When America followed the policy of isolationism, military expenditures were quite low. However, as time progressed, U.S. military spending increased dramatically, especially around the time of WW2. Even though the United States has not technically declared war since World War 2, we still spend a huge portion of our GDP on military expenditures.

American National Security and Foreign Policy

Hannah Chosid

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