Tools of Foreign Policy

In this foreign policy video, learn how leaders further their countries’ interests with political, economic, and military tools such as diplomacy, trade, and intelligence.

In this free resource on diplomacy, understand how countries advocate for their national interests through foreign policy.

In this free resource on sanctions, learn how countries use punitive economic measures to advance their foreign policy priorities.

Learn why China lends billions of dollars aboard each year through its Belt and Road Initiative and the implications of that free resource for recipient countries.

In this free resource on trade policy, explore how countries leverage their economic power to advance their foreign policy interests.

In this free resource on military action, learn how countries use violence, or armed force, to influence foreign policy.

In this free resource, explore examples of deterrence from the Cold War to present day to learn how countries dissuade bad behavior with the threat of significant punishment.

In this free resource on arms control agreements, learn how countries try to regulate the world’s most powerful weapons through foreign policy.

In this free resource on nation-building, learn why developing political, economic, security, and social institutions across borders is a complex business.

In this free resource on the successes and failures of peacekeeping, learn about the UN missions tasked with transitioning countries out of war.

From Cold War double agents to Chinese spy balloons, explore how lying and spying inform policymaking in this resource on intelligence.

From Cold War propaganda to current day pop culture, learn how countries use soft power to influence others without coercion in this free resource.

In this educational video on foreign policy, explore how U.S. relations with Japan have changed over the past century, from Pearl Harbor to a peaceful alliance.

Questions to check your understanding.