Domestic Issues and U.S. Foreign Policy

Marten van Heuven

Expert InsightsPublished 1996

In a democracy, foreign policy will be shaped by domestic issues. Three are currently under discussion: The balance between federal and state responsibilities, the size of the federal government (and the related issue of balancing the budget), and America's role in the post Cold War world. The debate has triggered a variety of widely disparate views. Nonetheless, the US may be expected to move abroad in an incremental and pragmatic way, influenced by tighter resources, caution about new commitments, a touch of suspicion with respect to international organizations, domestic concerns (such as drugs, terrorism and protectionism) and, as always, by demonstrable American values.

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van Heuven, Marten, Domestic Issues and U.S. Foreign Policy. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1996. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P7963.html.
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