Exam 2 Flashcards
(337 cards)
What is bureaucracy?
An administrative organization responsible for carrying out day-to-day business of government
How many cabinet departments are there?
15
What are the characteristics of bureaucracy?
Coordination issues, competing missions, competition for money/influence/status, competing subcultures, red tape, tensions between bureaucrats and officials appointed by the president
What did the New Deal do for bureaucracy?
Created new economic agencies
How did WWII and CW aid the bureaucracy?
Created new national security agencies
What is the complexity of policymaking cycles for FP issues?
Agenda setting, policy formation, policy implementation
What is the rational actor model?
There us a pyramid of authority, with presidential leadership at the top, leaders are rational and defend the national interest
What is groupthink?
Policymaking happened in small groups, but that group overestimates its morality and competency, leading to outside opinions being shut down
What is the governmental polictics model?
Power is diffuse and there is no dominant actor, so the FP process revolves around competition, leading to bad decisions
Why did Obama announce he would be sending 33,000 more troops to Afghanistan in Dec 2009, but say that the surge would only last 18 months?
Political competition between the military who wanted to prove they couldn’t be defeated and political leaders, who wanted a short surge to get Obama reelected
What is the organizational process model?
Bureaucracy is the independent driving force behind policy
How can the challenger disaster be explained?
The U.S. space program was driven by government bureaucracies and corporate bureaucracies, so strategic pressure, business pressure, downplayed safety issues
How do interbranch politics affect policy?
The constitution is an invitation to struggle, and members of Congress all have different ways to influence policy
What are key determinants of congressional policies?
Pros and cons of policies, electoral concerns, quest for funds, national public opinion, partisanship, policy preferences
What is the budget of the state department?
$55 b
How many employees does the state department have?
75,000
What are the functions of the state department?
- Represent the US government abroad
- Report the views of foreigners to the U.S. government
- Conduct diplomacy and negotiations abroad
- Analyze foreign events
- Provide policy advice to the president
What is diplomacy?
The processes and institutions by which the interests and identities of sovereign states are represented to one another
What are smaller responsibilities of the state department?
Foreign aid and public diplomacy
When was USAID created?
1961
Who is the head of the state department?
The Secretary of State
What is the inside out dilemma the Secretary of State faces?
He must advise the president but also defend the interests of the state department
What are the state department thematic bureaus?
Political affairs, economic growth, energy, and environment, arms control and international security affairs, civilian security, diplomacy, and HR, public diplomacy and public affairs, management
What are the geographic bureaus of the state department?
Africa, East Asia and Pacific, European and Eurasian, Near Eastern, South and Central Asian affairs, Western hemisphere