The Importance of Foreign Policy
The foreign relation is one of the critical, complicated and challenging tasks of any given regime in the world and needs the insubstantial and flexible strategy that ranges from the diplomatic influence on armed forces in solving a mass of the problems. The foreign policy is the determinant of how the United States carries out its relations with other nations, and it aims to accomplish specific objectives and also seeks to guarantee the security and defense of the U.S (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2018). Therefore, the foreign policy is the universal goals that direct the actions and affairs of a nation as regards its relations with other countries. When it comes to the formulation of the foreign policy, both the Congress and the president have a role to play; for example, the president is responsible for the treaty negotiations and appointments of the representative ambassadors among other duties. Conversely, the Congress is responsible for cutting or increasing the foreign support or budget for any security mission and also has to approve of the president’s actions towards any foreign policy. An excellent example of the American foreign policy is the lifting of the embargo during the Obama administration which had the intention of stopping the Cuban government from oppressing the citizens by improving its human rights data through the political and economic changes (Felter & Renwick, 2018).
The President's Role in Foreign Policy
The president of the United States has the most important roles when it comes to the formulation of foreign policies. There are six fundamental ways that the President of the United States can shape foreign policy. One way is by responding to external events. The constitution gives the president of the U.S the power to act as its sole spokesman and the head of foreign services, the intelligence service, the armed forces, and the bureaucracy. Therefore, the president is responsible for responding to any form of external event that is of interest to the United States and thereby initiating the foreign policy (Ali & Munawar, 2013). The second way the president can shape foreign policy is by administration proposal for legislation. In some cases, the executive arm of the government might want to initiate a foreign policy program that requires appropriation or law. To achieve this, the president must propose the legislation to Congress. The third role of the president in foreign policy formulation is in the negotiation of international agreements by other nations’ representatives. It is only the president who can negotiate with another foreign power, and has the authority or power to appoint someone to negotiate on his behalf. However, the opinion of the Congress is vital during the negotiations as they can either approve or dismiss the talks. The president can also initiate foreign policy through unilateral statements issued with other foreign governments. Usually, unilateral statements constitute United States goals, and objectives. The president also has the sole responsibility of implementing foreign policy through the application and interpretation of the policy through the executive. It is under this jurisdiction that the president appoints various United States representatives abroad, such as Ambassadors, and secretary of State. Lastly, the President can also influence foreign policy through independent action. The president has the power to initiate a swift foreign policy action without the knowledge of Congress.
The Role of Congress in Foreign Policy
Apart from the president, the United States Congress also has a significant role in the formulation and implementation of the State’s foreign policy. The Congress’ most notable role is through legislation. It is the Congress that has the power to pass foreign policy bills in the house. Therefore, it can adopt the policy without making amendments to the law, move it with some modifications, or reject the proposed foreign policy initiative (Ali & Munawar, 2013). Thus, through legislation, Congress has an influential role in influencing foreign policy. The Congress’ funding power can also influence the United States policies abroad. For the president and the executive to align themselves with the Congress view on a foreign policy initiative, it can among other things use its power of the purse to cut some major funding, thereby making sure that it limits the president’s freedom of action (Deering, 2005). The Congress was able to use this power when Obama issued an executive order for the shutting down of Guantanamo Bay prison. In response congress passed a law to ban the use of federal money for the transfer of prisoners, thereby limiting the success rate of the foreign policy program. Congress can also cut the military budget and foreign aid thereby ensuring that the president does not fully implement a given foreign policy. One reason why cutting of foreign aid is always successful in limiting executive powers is because foreign aid program lacks domestic constituency to protect it from any form of intrusion (Ali & Munawar, 2013). The United States citizens also do feel that the government should prioritize on developments at home and not commit much federal money to foreign endeavors. As a result, Congress always finds it easy to manipulate the public opinion on foreign aid which usually works to its advantage, thereby forcing the executive to cooperate with Congress in foreign policy formulation. Also, through the Senate Foreign Aid Committee, Congress can delay any floor action on any trade agreements or treaties with foreign powers, thereby forcing the executive to negotiate any changes proposed by Congress before congress recommends approval of the trade agreement or treaty.
The Obama Administration's Foreign Policy Successes
There were a lot of foreign policy initiatives during the Obama administration. However, the most successful foreign policy was the restoration of the Cuba United States relations, a relationship which had been combative since the Fidel Castro’s led revolution in the nineteen sixties. The Obama’s foreign policy, as a result, led to the lifting of the embargo on Cuba, which meant that Cuba could now engage the United States in facilitating trade and other relations. The Obama administration was able to convince Congress, which plays a big role in foreign policy formulation, to dismantle the States’ embargo on Cuba, and any other initiative aimed at alienating Cuba from the hemispheric corporation. Here we witness the importance of cooperation between the executive and Congress in the formulation of the Cuban foreign policy. One of the most concrete moves towards restoring the Cuba U.S relations was the opening of the United States Embassy in Havana, putting an end to an opposed relationship between the two countries which has existed since Kennedy’s administration. The foreign policy also sought to address Cuba’s desire to have a mutual coexistence with the United States with minimal United States influence which at times went beyond persuasion, such as Kennedy’s administration interference during the Cuba revolution (Leogrande, 2015). The Obama administration’s view on the embargo was that it aimed at punishing the Castro brothers in ways that ended up hurting the Cuban people more than the Castro brothers. The blockade led to an isolated population with less economic prosperity. By lifting the ban and encouraging cooperation, the Obama administration aimed at supporting more social contact among Cubans living in exile with their brothers in Cuba, promoting economic reforms by opening its markets to the Cuban people, sponsoring development initiatives like construction of social amenities, and also providing aid where necessary to uplift the livelihood of the Cuban people. Overall, the Obama administration achieved what other presidents failed to achieve, which is a more positive view Latin Americans have on the United States.
References
Ali, K., " Munawar, S. (2013). President vs. congress in US foreign policy: cooperation or
Confontration. Journal of Political Studies, 20 (1), 1-11.
Constitutional Rights Foundation. (2018). Foreign policy-constitutional rights foundation.
Retrieved from http://www.crf-usa.org/war-in-iraq/foreign-policy.html
Deering, J. (2005). Foreign affairs and war. In The Legislative Branch and American
Democracy: Institutions and Performance. Paul J., " Sarah B., 349–381. New York: Oxford University Press.
Felter, C., " Renwick, D. (2018). U.S.-Cuba relations. Retrieved from
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-cuba-relations
Leo Grande, W. (2015). Normalizing US-Cuba relations: escaping the shackles of the past.
International Affairs, 91 (3), 473-488.
