GOVT2305: American Government 2
Lectures 9: The Presidency and Foreign Policy

Tom Hanna
tlhanna@central.uh.edu

University of Houston

2025-01-01

Introduction

  • The U.S. Presidency: Powers, Limits, and Evolution

      - Current Powers
  - Limits on Power
  - Relationship with Other Branches and States
  - Evolution of Power

Current Powers

  • Chief Executive
  • Legislative Leader
  • Judicial Powers
  • Commander-in-Chief
  • Chief Diplomat

Current Powers: Chief Executive

  • Chief Executive
    • Enforces federal laws
    • Appoints officials
    • Issues executive orders (policy directives with force of law)1
    • Issues signing statements

Current Powers: Legislative Leader

  • Legislative Leader
    • Proposes legislation
    • Vetoes bills
    • Delivers State of the Union

Current Powers: Judicial Powers

  • Judicial Powers
    • Nominates judges
    • Grants pardons

Current Powers: Foreign Policy and Defense

  • Commander-in-Chief1
    • Commands armed forces
    • Deploys troops
  • Chief Diplomat
    • Represents U.S. in foreign affairs
    • Negotiates treaties

Limits on Power: Why limit Presidential power?

If a President has majority support from the people and from a majority of states, why should we limit Presidential power?

There are at least two major reasons related to the nature of power and the nature of democracy that we have discussed. There is another major reason related to the nature of the U.S. Constitution.

Limits on Power: Why limit Presidential power?

  • Nature of government

      - Political power is the power to commit violence
  - Use of power should be appropriate to the situation

Limits on Power: Why limit Presidential power?

  • Nature of democracy

      - Consensual not majoritarian democracy
  - Political minorities (members of losing parties) still have rights
  - Political minorities are still entitled to representation

Limits on Power: Why limit Presidential power?

  • Nature of the U.S. Constitution

      - The Constitution limits the President's power
  - This is important because....

Why is it important to respect Constitutional limits?

Why is it important to respect Constitutional limits?

  • Nature of the U.S. Constitution - The Constitution limits the President’s power - This is important because…

If we ignore parts of the Constitution that we don’t like, we weaken all the protections that the Constitution provides for us.

Limits on Power

  • Congressional Oversight
  • Judicial Review
  • Public Opinion

Limits on Power: Congressional Oversight

  • Congressional Oversight
    • Impeachment
    • Veto override
    • Funding control

Limits on Power: Judicial Review

  • Judicial Review
    • Courts can declare actions unconstitutional

Limits on Power: Public Opinion

  • Public Opinion
    • Accountability through elections

Relationship with Other Branches and States: Congress

  • Shared powers in foreign policy

      - appointment of Ambassadors
  - treaties
  - war powers

  • Shared powers in domestic policy

      - cooperation on legislation
  - budget proposal
  - appointment of Department heads
  - enforcement of laws

  • Checks and balances

      - veto
  - impeachment

Relationship with Other Branches and States: Judiciary

  • Judicial review of Presidential actions
  • Judicial appointments
  • Department of Justice, Attorney General, Solicitor General bring and respond to cases
  • President signs the budget including Courts

Relationship with Other Branches and States: States

  • Respect for state powers
  • National Guard
  • enforcing federal court orders
  • disbursing federal funding
  • emergency management

Evolution of Power

  • National Crises: Expansion of power during crises

      - Civil War
  - Great Depression
  - World Wars
  - Cold War (Vietnam, Korea, other events)
  - War on Terror

Evolution of Power

  • Technological Advances: Increased influence via media that reach the public quickly and directly

      - Radio
  - Television
  - Internet
  - Social Media

Evolution of Power

  • Congressional Delegation:

      - Increased executive authority
  - Increased executive discretion

Evolution of Power

  • Public Expectations:

  • Changing expectations of President and national government

      - Representative of the states --> Representative of the entire
  - Presiding over the government --> Solving national problems
  - Limited government --> Active government
  - National government - National problems --> National government - All problems
  - Chief executive --> Chief legislator (blurring of separation of powers)

Domestic Policy

What is the role of the President in Domestic Policy?

  • Appointing agency heads, department secretaries, and other politically appointed officials
  • Setting a policy agenda consistent with campaign promises
  • Executive Orders

Executive Orders

How a Bill Does NOT Become a Law

Executive Orders

  • Directives issued by the President that have the force of law
  • Can be challenged in court
  • Can be overturned by Congress (but requires a veto-proof majority)
  • Can be overturned by the next President with the stroke of a pen (new executive order)

Examples of Executive Orders

  • Emancipation Proclamation
  • Executive Order 9066 (Japanese internment)
  • Executive Order 9981 (Desegregation of the military)
  • Executive Order 12333 (Prohibition on assassination of heaads of state)
  • Executive Order 13526 (Classified National Security Information)
  • Executive Order 13769 (Trump travel ban)

Numbers of executive orders by President (since 1937)

Great Depression to Vietnam War1

  • Franklin D. Roosevelt: 2,023 over 8 years (World War II and Great Depression)
  • Harry Truman: 906 over 8 years (WWII and Korean War)
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower: 484 over 8 years (Cold War)
  • John F. Kennedy: 214 over 3 years (Cold War)
  • Lyndon B. Johnson: 325 over 5 years (Vietnam War)
  • Richard Nixon: 346 over 5 years (Vietnam War)

Numbers of executive orders by President (since 1937)

post-Vietnam to 2000

  • Gerald Ford: 169 over 2 years (Post-Watergate, Cold War)
  • Jimmy Carter: 320 over 4 years (Post-Watergate, Cold War)
  • Ronald Reagan: 381 over 8 years (Cold War)
  • George H.W. Bush: 166 over 4 years (Post-Cold War)
  • Bill Clinton: 364 over 8 years (Post-Cold War)

Numbers of executive orders by President (since 1937)

War on Terror through Covid

  • George W. Bush: 291 over 8 years (War on Terror)
  • Barack Obama: 276 over 8 years (Great Recession)
  • Donald Trump: 220 over 4 years (Post-Great Recession and Covid pandemic)
  • Joe Biden: 143 over 4 years (Covid)

Foreign Policy

The Constitution makes foreign policy the domain of the President with the advice and consent of the Senate

The Goals of Foreign Policy

What is Foreign Policy?

  • Programs & Policies
  • Relationships with other nations
  • Includes: Diplomacy, Military, Security, Trade, Aid, & More

Foreign Policy Today

  • Nation-States

  • Non-State Actors

    - Multinational Corporations
- Nongovernmental Organizations
- Non-state armed groups (rebel and terrorist groups)
- Organized crime groups

  • International Organizations

Goals of U.S. Foreign Policy

  • Security for the US

      - Primariily American security
  - Security of allies

  • Prosperity for American citizens

      - Economic growth
  - Access to resources
  - Access to markets

  • A Better World (American idealism)

      - Human rights
  - Democracy promotion
  - Peaceful resolution of disputes
  - Environmental protection
  - US is a major contributor to international organizations

Security Policies Throughout History

  • Isolationism (before World War I and again after WWI)

  • Appeasement (before World War II 1939-1945)

  • Containment (Cold War 1946-1991)

  • Deterrence (Cold War 1946-1991)

  • Collective Action & Restraint (Post Cold War)

    - Iraq-Kuwait First Gulf War 1990-1991
- NATO actions in former Yugoslavia
- NATO action in Libya

  • Preventive War (Iraq 2003)

Other Foreign Policy Goals

  • Environmental Policy
  • Human Rights Policy
  • Peacekeeping
  • Expanding markets

Who Makes American Foreign Policy?

Key Players

  • President & Advisors
  • Bureaucracy (State, Defense, CIA)
  • Congress
  • Courts (rarely)
  • Political Parties (limited)
  • Interest Groups
  • Trade Associations

The Bush Doctrine

  • Preemptive Action

    -  No need to wait for a first strike
-  No need to find a "smoking gun"
-  Iraq 2003
-  Afghanistan 2001

The President

  • Executive Agreements

      -   Partially Bypassing Congress
  -   Not a Treaty
  -   Not a law

  • Treaties

      -   Requires Senate Approval
  -   Supreme law of the land, second only to the Constitution

Bureaucracy’s Role

  • Secretaries of State, Defense, Treasury
  • Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • CIA Director
  • National Security Council

Congress as Foreign Policy Maker

  • Increased Role Since WWII
  • Oversight role verging on management

Interest Group Influence

  • Economic Groups
  • Ethnic/National Groups
  • Human Rights Groups
  • Environmental Groups

Instruments of Modern American Foreign Policy

Diplomacy

  • Representation to Other Governments
  • Overshadowed by Major Events

The Post Cold War Liberal Order

  • The United Nations (UN)

      - US, UK, France, Russia, China (Security Council)
  - General Assembly

  • International Financial Institutions

      -   World Bank
  -   International Monetary Fund (IMF)

  • Trade Agreements

      -   World Trade Organization (WTO)
  -   Regional Agreements

  • Security Arrangements

      -   NATO
  -   SEATO
  -   Collective Security Treaties

Major foreign policy issues

Current Foreign Policy Issues

  • Major Powers

      -   China's Rise
  -   Military & Economic Power
  -   Blunting Russia's Ambitions in Europe

  • Nuclear Proliferation and other WMD

      -   Iran
  -   North Korea
  -   Terrorism

  • Trade

  • Global Environmental Policy

     -  Ocean resources
 -  Endangered species
 -  Climate change

Conclusion

  • Powerful institution, critical role
  • Powers evolved over time
  • Understanding essential for civic engagement

Authorship and License

Do not submit to Quizlet, Chegg, Coursehero, or other similar commercial websites.

Graphics Credit: Unless otherwise noted graphics are from Norton Publishers

Creative Commons License

GOVT2305, Spring 2025, Instructor: Tom Hanna