Shifting Stances
This belief suggests that America's foreign affairs are based on a unique mission and ideals
American Exceptionalism
By the 1840s, the idea of America's expansion to the Pacific was popular as the nation's apparently inevitable, divinely determined fate
Manifest Destiny
This conflict led to massive anti-war protests domestically and inhibited later involvement in other countries
The Vietnam War
Under the US system of checks and balances, only this branch of government, not the President, can officially declare war
Congress
This barrier, symbolic of a divided Europe and the Cold War, was torn down in November 1989
The Berlin Wall
Achieving foreign policy goals through diplomacy and attracting support by example and ideals
soft power
This foreign policy statement from 1823 warned European powers against intervening in the affairs of the Americas and declared them the US's exclusive sphere of interest
The Monroe Doctrine
The terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center and attacked the Pentagon, leading to a significant shift in US foreign policy towards interventionism
9/11
Established by the National Security Act of 1947, this body centralises control over branches of the military and provides advice to the President on national security
The National Security Council
This military alliance, originally a counterforce to the Warsaw Pact, expanded eastward after the Cold War, causing tension with Russia
NATO
President Trump's declared foreign policy approach, which he asserted meant putting the homeland’s interests first and making poor "deals" a thing of the past
America First
Announced by President Truman in 1947, this policy committed the US to actively intervening to prevent communist expansion anywhere in the world, becoming the cornerstone of Cold War foreign policy
The Truman Doctrine/ Containment
Following 9/11, the Bush administration adopted these aggressive actions, attacking an enemy as it prepared to strike, or even without evidence of an imminent strike
Preemptive and preventative action
This executive department, led by the Secretary of State, along with the Department of Defense, formulates policy suggestions and manages the implementation of foreign policy
The State Department
President Trump withdrew the US from this multinational trade agreement among Pacific coast nations, except for China, upon taking office
The Trans-Pacific Partnership
The term used by President Obama and his secretaries of state to describe their approach of attempting to balance diplomacy with military or economic pressure
Smart Power
Woodrow Wilson's vision for a new world order after World War I, which included principles like self-determination, free trade, and a proposal for a League of Nations
The fourteen points
This scandal during the Reagan administration involved secretly selling weapons to Iran and using the profits to fund rebels in Nicaragua, defying congressional policy
The Iran-Contra scandal
Unlike treaties, which require Senate ratification, Presidents often use these agreements to conduct foreign policy without needing Senate approval
Executive Agreements
President Biden, aiming to restore American diplomacy, faces complex relations with nation-states as well as these non-state actors, such as those in northwest Africa mentioned in the text
Islamic terrorist cells