What are the president's foreign policy powers? What are Congress's foreign policy powers?

Question

Who has more foreign policy powers and why? Is the existing balance of power between Congress and the president appropriate, or would the United States be better off if one branch's powers were to increase and the other branch's powers were to decrease? Provide a justification for your answer.

Answer 1

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. List the president's foreign policy powers, including command over the armed forces, the nomination of U.S. diplomats and the recognition of foreign countries, the negotiation and signature of treaties, and a cadre of hand-selected executive branch advisers.
2. Identify Congress's foreign policy powers, including appropriation of funds for foreign policy (or the refusal to appropriate funds), the confirmation of the president's advisers, the ratification of treaties, and the authority to declare war.
3. Draw a conclusion about who has more power: the president or Congress. The most compelling arguments will claim that the president has more foreign policy powers than does Congress. This conclusion is reached by examining the formal foreign policy powers the president has, along with the fact that the president's foreign policy authority is seldom seriously challenged by Congress.
4. Make and justify arguments for whether the balance of the power should remain with the president, or whether Congress should have increased foreign policy power. Most would argue that it is important for the president to be able to make quick and decisive foreign and defense policy decisions to safeguard U.S. interests and that Congress typically acts too slowly for such situations. Some, however, would argue that Congress should take a stronger role because it is the more democratic branch of government and foreign policy decisions should not be concentrated in the hands of a single individual.