Describe the evolution of presidential foreign policy doctrine in the post–Cold War period, beginning with the Clinton administration and ending with the Obama administration. How did Congress and the Supreme Court affect the ability of each administration to execute its foreign policy agenda? Be specific and support your response using examples of legislation and/or rulings from the court. What domestic or international events may have changed the administration’s goals?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers should identify how the Clinton administration came into office with a focus on domestic reforms and lacked solid foreign policy principles at the start. When the administration did set its foreign policy doctrine, it was guided by the idea that global engagement and enlargement of democratic rule should be the central goal of U.S. foreign policy. Answers should also acknowledge how the events of September 11, 2001, led the Bush administration to establish a doctrine focused on preventative attacks on state terrorists and the proactive, often unilateral assertion of America’s world power. U.S. primacy was identified as a key goal of grand strategy under the Bush administration. Answers should identify the Obama administration’s focus on soft power and narrowing the war on terror, as well as raising allied support and leaving a smaller military footprint. Answers regarding the Supreme Court and Congress’s roles will vary. Supreme Court cases mentioned may include: Sale v. Haitian Centers Council, Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council, Rasul v. Bush, Hamdi v. Bush, Hamdan v. Bush, Boumediene v. Bush, and Arizona v. United States. Congressional actions may include Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), unwillingness to endorse sending troops to Syria (Obama administration), and the Military Commissions Act. Domestic and international events will also vary, but may include September 11 attacks, changes in congressional party majority, public opinion shifts, and regional conflicts (examples under every administration).