Political Science 2244E Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: H. R. Mcmaster
19 Jan 2018
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Document Summary
What does ir teach us: dominant paradigms: neorealism/neoliberalism, shared assumptions, regularities in ir explained at systemic level, anarchy is a central, underlying force in ir. States are self-interested, rational, unitary actors: disagreements, possibilities for cooperation, relative vs absolute gains, others (alliances, power distribution, etc. ) Where is the power: the constitution says that only congress can regulate commerce with other nations and declare war, but americans think that the president is in charge and history confirms that belief. Differing views of presidential power: one- presidents relatively strong in foreign affairs (compared to domestic, another- presidents comparatively weak (compared to other countries, evaluation of presidential powers often depends on whether you like the president and his policies. The courts and foreign policy: the supreme court - federal government has foreign and military policy powers beyond those specifically mentioned in the constitution. Checks on presidential power: mainly political rather than constitutional checks, congress - purse strings, congress - military or economic aid.
