For each and every country on the planet to function properly there needs to be a government. The government type can vary for different republics across the globe, however, there needs to exist a body of officials that govern and control a state by going over their laws and orders to make sure that everything is stable. Now each government of each country all have one main point in common; that is that they all have a head of state. The head of state can be the president, prime minister, dictator, etc. Although the important point is that there is one person who is the leader of the pack. In the United States, the head of state is our president as we do not have a prime minister or dictator.
As the president is the one with the most influence and power in the entire country, a lot of responsibility comes along with that – as well as a lot of power. That’s right, the president of the United States has authority over a lot of different operations, not to mention he is the commander in chief of the military. Another country where the head of state has a lot of authority is China. The president of China is also the commander in chief of their military.
The president is the dominant force in policy making in the United States for some very understandable reasons. First of all, the foreign policies that a country makes with another depends on how the countries relate with each other. It displays how well set the countries are with each other and how they both cooperate together to boost national security and other forms of national interest. When a representative goes to discuss issues and work them out, it is best that that person be the head of the state or someone who has know how of dealing with foreign delegates in making both countries have an advantage.
The question arises, that why does that person have to be the president, why can’t it be someone else? Well the answer to that question is somewhat complex; there could be another representative, of course. However, the problem is that the president is the ideal man in power. The head of state has a key objective while performing their job and that it to keep good relations with other countries and to build allies. We can go back to the previously discussed point regarding the fact that the president is the largest representative available for a country. So if our president is the dominant force of foreign policy making, it would be completely valid and understood as there would be no one better.
When every executive order gets signed by the president there is a body of government officials who organize and submit those orders to be signed and validated by the president. That group of people are known to be congress. Congress is the body of officials who work day and night in working with the public in having tax dollars put to their most efficient use. As they are politicians, they are elected for different regions and are put to support that specific regions by going to assemblies and courts to fight for their hometown in putting up valid arguments for the government to help fix roads, build parks, etc. in that specific city.
Now congress doesn’t play a very big role when it comes to how it affects foreign policy making. There is one thing that must be understood, that is that the president has the final say in orders unless taken to the chief justice in the supreme court – and he is also the primary representative of the country as he represents his own country in foreign relation areas. Congress does however play its role quite well in this dilemma. They are the key figures for advising the president of what should be done and what should be taken as a threat to national security for them.
They are the governing body concerned with having to write legislative laws to be later signed by the president himself over foreign policies all in national interests. What can be seen is that congress should not really put their hand and get a fair share in foreign policy making as the position of this job is to be filled by one person. This job really has to do with one person taking advice and speaking decisions in which his country is favorable to the other countries and attempting to create peace amongst the nations with an additional advantage of the two nations working together for common interests.
The congress getting involved in anything other than creating bills and having them passed or advising the executive branch of the orders that should be carried out would be against that national interests of that country. In any position of massive power, the seat of power should only be taken up by one chosen member to make relatable decisions to involve the other parties in a mutual discussion. On the other hand, if congress would assist the president in making foreign policies, there would be confusion and interruptions all across the conference. No proper opinion would be passed from either side of the table; members of the same congress would be confused in whether they are all going for the same topic to discuss or multiple different statements.
This is a clear ticket to chaos, it will lead nowhere and most likely the relations of the countries from then on would be worse off than they were initially. So we can understand why congress should not have too much of an active role in foreign policy making. Congress on the other hand has played its part very well in the passive areas where their stance was required. It is not easy for a group of people to agree upon a bill and have it created without errors or loopholes.
If for example, the president decides to pass a bill to start a trade route to help investors in the United States invest in neighboring countries. What he would have to do would be to have the bill written down. Then have that sent down to Capitol Hill where congress would approve of it. Now here is where it gets a bit tricky, congress would have to agree on whether or not the foreign policy is beneficial for the nation or not. If an agreement is reached, the bill is passed back to the oval office for the final signature – and hence it becomes a law. In some cases, Congress might believe that the bill is not perfect and at that point, the President begins to negotiate with members of Congress until they reach a point of mutual satisfaction.
In foreign policy making, the president and congress are both essential characters in this dilemma. They both need one another to have their way and protect the interests of that country. As we had seen, if the president does not sign the bill, it would not go through to become a new order issued by the government. Instead it would be discarded and not catered for. Furthermore, if congress does not approve of an executive order sent by the desk of the president; that order will as well not be entertained for further execution and will soon be discarded and be of no use. Unless of course, the influence of the President gets the best of them and they get manipulated into signing the order and passing it on; such cases have been recorded in history not so many years ago.
To conclude, we have discussed that the president is the dominant force in foreign policy making and why. We also discussed what role congress plays in this whole charade and how congress and the president have to cooperate to have a new policy introduced between the two countries.
