POL SCI 120A Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Appeasement, Arthur H. Vandenberg, Isolationism
Document Summary
Watch vietnam documentary on pbs by ken burns & lynn novick. The public generally follows the president behind foreign policy. But the public puts constraint on the president with regards to public policy: characteristics, uninformed. American voters respond to economic issues like inflation, unemployment, prolonged wars with economic casualties. They don"t read much on foreign policy, and don"t watch the news: so their opinions are not anchored in fact, unstable. Because public opinion is subject to mood swings, some commentators have argued it shouldn"t influence foreign policy. President should guide public opinion, not be confined by it. There are elements of stability in public opinion. The public does respond in reasonable ways to foreign policy: permissive and patriotic. 2 exceptions: vietnam, the public turned against the war before johnson and. Apartheid (separation of the races: college campus protests influenced the reagan administration, elections, backward-looking.
