WEEK 15: Presidential Diplomacy

In this week's class we will examine the constitutional powers of the President in foreign affairs. What is diplomacy and how does the Constitution provide for the making of treaties? How does a treaty differ from an executive agreement and are these executive agreements constitutional? The president has three principal groups of officials to help him formulate foreign policy to include diplomatic communities, military communities and intelligence communities. The Secretaries of State and Defense together with the Director of Central Intelligence and the National Security Council (NSC) are key advisors to the President in carrying out his constitutional powers and interacting with Congress and its explicit constitutional powers detailed in Article 1. An example of a controversial diplomatic decision by U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton is the continuation of China's MFN status after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. See a BBC video of this event here, a Chinese video here, and a music video here that chronicles the massacre.



In preparation for next week's class on Presidential War Making, students are reminded to read the articles entitled "Is Terrorism a Mortal Threat?" and "Here's Who's Really Behind the Start of the Second Cold War". Be prepared for a class discussion of these articles.