Explain how United States domestic politics affect United States foreign policy.

Given its military and economic might, the United States is the most influential nation in the world. As noted, it is also a trendsetter in the development and maintenance of democratic institutions and a free market economic system rooted in a rich soil of individual rights and liberties. In addition to the kinds of effects discussed in the previous section, what happens inside the United States — socially, politically, culturally, and economically — also has a direct, or sometimes significant indirect, impact on the affairs of other nations. U.S. policies on health care, education, technology, intellectual property, immigration, economic stimulus, and dozens of other issues have a ripple effect on related policies and realities in other nations. These sometimes unintended “exports” to other nations often impact their diplomatic relations with the United States. For example, American factories create pollution that does not stop at the border. This reality has occasionally strained relations with the Canadian government to our north, and the United States has more recently had similar concerns with pollution from Mexico.

Closer to home, the domestic policy arena can have a direct impact on the way political leaders and the public approaches foreign policy. When the international arena is fairly calm and there are significant internal economic and social policy problems, politicians and average citizens are inclined to look inward, not outward. If economic times are tough, support for foreign aid diminishes in favor of increased domestic spending. If Republicans and Democrats are sharply divided on health care, Social Security, or other issues, their attention to foreign policy problems can sometimes wane. These kinds of disputes over domestic policy can also negatively effect the tone of the debate on foreign policy issues. Generally speaking, domestic policy is much more contentious than foreign policy. Sometimes the ill-feelings and partisanship that often manifest themselves in domestic policy disputes carry over into congressional-presidential relations on foreign policy questions. When the immediate safety and interests of the nation are threatened, however, political differences and partisanship all but disappear, and the nation stands together to face outside dangers.

Domestic policy also affects U.S. foreign policy in more subtle ways. When other nations sense that there is discord on domestic issues, it can weaken the position of the United States in foreign policy making. For example, the 2000 presidential election controversy makes other nations less likely to ask for or accept help from the United States in establishing democratic election processes. American performance on education, crime, health care, or other policies (especially when it is poor) influences the willingness of other nations to take advice from the United States or listen to American concerns on related issues. The nation’s general patriotic fervor directly impacts the number of people who enlist in the military. The performance of American corporations influences the economic health of the nation and, in turn, the amount of money available for government to expend on foreign policy initiatives. Indeed, the interconnections between domestic and foreign policy are too numerous to list them all. Clearly, however, as leaders consider how the United States interacts with other nations, they cannot do so without one eye looking inward while the other eye looks out.