Foreign Policy Terms
Term / Definition / Significance – Why important? How does it relate to a bigger idea?Interests / What a country wants (usually a cost ($) can be attached to this). / Foreign policy is sometimes shaped by interests.
Values / What is important to an individual/group/nation. / Foreign policy is sometimes shaped by values.
State / A body of people living in a defined space with the power to make and enforce laws without having to check with a higher authority and an organization (government) to do this. / Foreign policy works with states.
Terrorists are separate from states.
Only states can be members of the UN.
Foreign Policy / The official views and policies of the government regarding its relations with other countries
Sovereignty / The ability to make and enforce laws without having to check with a higher authority. / Functioning [working] states have sovereignty.
Diplomacy / The practice of conducting relations with other nations with the goal of avoiding hostility. / This is the goal main tool of US foreign policy.
Hostility / Anger. / The goal of diplomacy is to avoid hostility because hostility could lead to war
Negotiation / These are the discussions between groups, aimed at reaching a deal that both sides can live with. / There are many examples of negotiations in foreign policy.
Non negotiable issue / These are issues that someone is not willing to make a deal about. / These can cause hostility sometimes.
Treaty / A formal agreement between two or more countries. / Treaties are usually used to end war [make peace] or make trade agreements between countries. The US President makes treaties but the US Senate must approve all US treaties.
Alliance / A formal agreement between nations, specifically for the purposes of supporting each other against a military threat. / George Washington warned against permanent alliances with European powers.
Allies / Nations that have formed an alliance. / During WWII, Russia and US were allies.
Aid / The act of giving money, resources (like food, weapons, or training) to another country. / The US gives more $ in aid than any other country in the world.
Blockade / This is when one country tries to separate another country from external resources (imports and exports). / To prevent Cuba from getting more nuclear weapon from Russia during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the US created a blockade around the Island.
Sanctions / Sanctions are SPECIFIC, targeted economic restrictions on a country or individual of a specific type of good. Sanctions are most powerful if ALL other nations agree. / Sanctions were effective against Libya to encourage it to end its efforts to build nuclear program.
Embargo / This is a TOTAL sanction on all goods. / The US placed an embargo on North Korea.
War / This is a military engagement between the forces of two states. / The goal of diplomacy is to avoid this.