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Do You Have Questions About Foreign Policy?
Some of you may remember, because I’ve mentioned this often in interviews and podcasts, that my book about Margaret Thatcher began with an offhand comment from my brother. The comment, specifically, was, “You know what you should do, Claire? You should write a book about Margaret Thatcher.”
The other day, my brother said, “You know what you should do, Claire? You should write a book about foreign policy.”
“Foreign policy?” I said. “It’s not as if no one’s written one before.”
“Yeah, but a lot of people are still really confused.”
Okay, fair enough.
He thought that a book that focused on answering some fairly basic questions, in a readable, interesting way, could be successful. He asked, for example, how many people really understand all the tools of foreign policy that fall between “total withdrawal from the world” and “nuking it.” He thought people might like a book that explains–for example–what a démarche is. How the United States uses weapons sales as a tool of policy. How many diplomats we have, and what they do all day. Foreign aid as a policy tool.
I’m just not sure: Is there a need for that kind of book? My brother’s instincts are usually pretty good, but when I look at everything that’s been published about US foreign policy, I’m just not sure what another book would add.
Perhaps you could help me refine that idea. What have you always wanted to know about foreign policy? Do you think I’d be the right person to answer those questions? Do you think that’s a good idea for a book?
Published in General
Some thoughts – how do you decide who our friends / antagonists are and what does it take on their part to go from one classification to another?
We seem to be in the position now of following the wishes of the Iraqis and Turks by not air-dropping every surplus piece of killing instruments to a people (Kurds) who seem willing to fight and might actually like us.
Why isn’t every vehicle behind the lines of our enemy fair game for a drone strike? There is lots of Made in America /Bought by America stuff behind the lines right now that would seem to make good target practice. We bought it – we blow it up!
Is the enemy of my enemy really my friend or all the barbarians bad?
Ambien kicking in must stop soon. Remember, more rubble = less trouble and there’s a lot of sand out there that can be made into glass. Oh, great and wonderful SMOD visit yourself upon us soon and relieve us of these tribulations.
While it may seem partisan hackery, an elevated level of discourse may ride to the rescue on that front — Foreign Policy as traditionally practiced vs whatever the H is going on now would be a gripping read.
Reset, red lines, secret letters to the Ayatollah, sabotaged BSA, electric vehicles vs security for the banghazi mission… there’s a lot to work with that seems to be outside the Civics class version of FP.
Technically, our dealings with Mexico are still foreign policy, despite almost everybody’s attempts to erase the distinction. Mexico joins lawsuits against American States, while our feral government foots the bill to pamphleteer Mexicans in Mexico about accessing services here.
Who is our ambassador to Mexico, and how lonely a job must that be?
After the way we abandoned people who helped us in Vietnam, Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, why should anyone trust the US in the future?
Ok, I’ll ask.
How much does the national debt tie our hands on the diplomatic scene? At the very least, does it give us any significant leverage as well? If China can influence us by threatening to call in their note, can we influence them by threatening to default on them?
During the cold war the common assumption seemed to be that, if a nuke was used anywhere it would inevitably escalate into global thermonuclear war. Was this ever true? If it was, is it still true?
Given that Ukraine gave up it’s former soviet nuclear weapons and look what happened to them, will it ever be possible to persuade other nations to give up WMD programs? Given the efficacy of weapons inspections, even if we can pressure a rogue state into giving up weapons programs, can we be sure that they have?
We’re, what, 50-60 years out from the Castro Revolution? Does the embargo help? Could it be that it just allows them to blame America for their economic woes? And, while this isn’t strictly speaking a question on the mechanics of foreign policy, do you ever expect to see a free Cuba?
Why are all the people at Foggy Bottom such pantywaists? Is it a requirement for the job? Why is it called Foggy Bottom?
It was originally Soggy, but that was deemed too undignified.
Exploring the domestic policy drivers of foreign policy would be interesting. All politics is local – so how are domestic concerns expressed as foreign policy? Is there one mechanism linking these, or several? How often are the connections between the two explicit, and how often assumed or implied? Would making the connections explicit – articulating them – make the process and strategies more accountable and more genuinely beneficial to the people of the US?
how many people really understand all the tools of foreign policy that fall between “total withdrawal from the world” and “nuking it.” He thought people might like a book that explains–for example–what a démarche is.
Those are the kinds of distinctions I would like to know more about. So I would buy and read.
I find that a lot of people describe foreign policy in personality terms and I know it is far more complex than that.
You’re thinking of the singers from “Oh, Brother, Where art Thou?”
If anyone could add some common sense to foreign policy, it would by you, Claire. I think there are some people with authority and power in this nation who need to read such a book. [of course, they don’t think they need to read it!]
I would like a clear examples of how US domestic decisions (now or in any era) influence foreign policy decisions.
I have had similar thoughts rolling around in my head about a foreign policy book, but looking at it from a theory standpoint. I recently graduated from a Masters program at Catholic University in International Affairs and there were two themes that stuck with me (of course not the only things): 1) Foreign policy as it is understood in the Beltway is dependent on the narrative that is created about this or that global event and 2) The overriding organizing principle among those who are considered big thinkers in the State Department and in academia is constraining our power on the global stage.
The narrative aspect disregards the actual facts on the ground of a situation for the purposes of advancing the organizing principle of the diplomatic elite. For instance, I learned that in the late-90s Israel under Netanyahu brutally cracked down on Palestinians and created the atmosphere of the 2nd Intafada in 2000. Notice what is missing here. From 1996 to 2000 there were hundreds of jihadist attacks in Israel killing hundreds of Israelis thereby prompting Netanyahu’s actions against Palestinians. Also notice that Israel, even in the event of its citizens being killed, must be restrained when responding to these attacks. It makes me wonder if the foreign policy elite believe that it is more important to constrain global powers regardless of intentions of those powers than it is to respond to evil and provocative acts by oppressive ideologies?
Evil is a bourgeois concept. I’m surprised you graduated.
Claire, there are a gazillion books on economics, too. But it’s still good that Thomas Sowell wrote Basic Economics.
OTOH, speaking of economics: didn’t you say There Is No Alternative made no money? I would buy your foreign policy book in a heartbeat, especially if you used my title, “Between Washington and Clausewitz,” because if you’re not going to make any money, you might as well go whole hog. But of course, you should reject my suggestion so as to maximize your chances of success.
Update: As is so often the case in writing, my tongue-in-cheekiness isn’t coming across here as clearly as it does in my head, sounding mean-spirited instead. My apologies, Claire!
Foggy Bottom is the name of the neighborhood. It’s comprised of the State Department, the Kennedy Center and the George Washington University campus. The name dates back to the beginning of the District.
With any luck, malaria would be rife there.
You appear to be imagining a book about the process and tools of foreign policy-making with, I assume, lots of little case studies of how various policies were made and implemented, but not focusing on the merits of these policies. Is that it? I’m also not clear about whether you are writing about American foreign policy or foreign policy in general, but I assume the former. I would be interested in a book that begins with the constitutional divisions, describing the Founders’ intent, and going on to discuss the way in which the making of U.S. foreign policy has developed, and especially the tensions between the various makers and how they were worked out in some individual cases.
Unrelated note: if you really want to teach foreign policy and want to make money, develop a good strategy game.
Is that another 4r game? The best one I ever played was “Hearts of Iron.”
I would like to know how people move around the intelligence and foreign policy community. What is the typical pathways in which their careers move and how does that path way influence their thinking.
What is influencing the worldview of our diplomatic and foreign policy movers and shakers, what is at work in the schools of diplomacy of other nations, and how does that intersect with their interaction with those who are from a different, shall we say, persuasion/background.
A history: social, cultural and intellectual of the US’s state department and allied agencies, rivals and schools of influence would be most welcome.
Also, how much independence do they have, and when and how can that both be an asset and a liability to an administration, and how does that compare with other major players on the global stage.
I’d also like to know how much power and/or influence the various supra-national agencies and meetings, G8 summits, NATO, UN, etc., actually have within various national agencies. What does the flow of power, networking, ideas, and trade between those organizations and the nation state really look like.
You can see my ignorance is vast, and I think that many of the previous suggestions are wonderful. I’d be most interested in this book no matter direction it goes in, should it come to fruition.
Personally, I think it should be a three volume work – a volume on the rise of diplomacy throughout world history to the present day, a volume on the foreign policy of the US in a global and domestic context, and a volume on the rest of the world with a focus on key regions focusing on the post 1989 world. I’m sure the publishers will leap at it, please take my advice!
Nah, they used DDT to get rid of it, just a decade or so before before jumping on the Ban DDT bandwagon in order to kill more people in the Third World.
They’re just brown people, after all.
I’m not sure what a “4r game” is, but “Hearts of Iron” and “Europa Universalis” are both from Paradox Interactive and use the same game engine.
I’d love to read your book. I wonder how King Dollar affects foreign policy and how it would change if we lose that status.
I don’t remember what the R’s are, but they’re the games where you develop resources, expand, develop more resources, and conquer.
“Reach for the Stars” is a classic example.
I was totally wrong. It’s a 4X game, explore, expand, exploit, exterminate.
Claire, I would definitely be interested. During the Cold War I thought I had a good understanding of American foreign policy. The Soviet Union was the “focus of evil in the modern world” as Reagan said. Now I am confused because evil is so unfocused. What should we do about that? I would be interested in the intersection between foreign policy and morality.
Let me recommend Wall Street, Banks, and American Foreign Policy, with a warning: having read it is one of the reasons I cannot be a Republican or identify as a “conservative” in the sense now traditional in the US.
US foreign policy, it seems to me, has always been based on the assumption that the world is filled with people just like us that happen to speak a different language.
I learned a long time ago in places like Vietnam that it just isn’t so. Although fundamental human nature may be the same, values, culture, and experience are most often so different as to make ideas and solutions that might make sense here absolutely futile when applied elsewhere.
Write about what you know. In your case that’s a lot so focus is important. The never ending mystery of the Middle East comes to mind, perhaps from the Turkish perspective. Making the complexity of issues whatever the topic understandable will always be a challenge.
My favorite has always been the historical novel following famous as well as ordinary people through generations woven through critical events. This gives memorable grounding inspiring me to dig through “hard” history books to get the full picture.
Whatever you choose to write I know you will do it well.
Claire,
I think it is a capital idea! We need to work on a title immediately. Here are some suggestions. Let me know.
1.) “What’s at the Bottom of Foggy Bottom?”
2.) “You Say Detente and I say Entente, You Say Engage and I Say Entangle…Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off.”
3.) and the ever popular “Foreign Policy For Idiots”
Seriously Claire, most of us could use a review of the basics. I’d love to read your new book.
Regards,
Jim
I heard a funny quote the other day, “War exists to teach Americans about geography.”
Well, substitute “foreign policy” for geography.
There ought to be a better way!
I do think there is confusion. The biggest payoff in such a project would be clarity around how it translates into what we should be teaching our children – think K-12.
Oh, and if people don’t think US K-12 isn’t infused with teachings large and small that form a worldview on this topic, they’re out of the loop.
History. Philosophy. A framework to understand the world.
I know I think all children should receive a purposeful education on this. As I just mentioned, they certainly do now.
Claire?
p.s. – After reading your two fiction works, I went to your website, where you introduced your brother. Your dialogues with him had me in stitches. Will we ever get to meet this guy?
I want a new Ricochet podcast: Berlinski Fireside Chats. With Claire, Mischa, and their father. I’d pay extra for that so fast, it’d make your head spin.