U.S. Foreign Policy: Introduction
Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to explain the basic principles of U.S. foreign policy.
- Students will be able to discuss the role of the President, Congress, and the National Security Council in shaping U.S. foreign policy.
Materials
Class One
- (5 Minutes) Think-Pair-Share: Have students turn to neighbors and discuss examples of U.S. Foreign Policy issues that they have seen in the news.
- (25 Minutes) Complete: Parts 1+2 of the guided reading handout.
- Watch: What is Foreign Policy? (2:26)
- Read: What Roles Do Congress + the Executive Branch Play in U.S. Foreign Policy?
- (10 Minutes) Worksheet: Students will complete the attached U.S. Foreign Policy: Congress and the Executive Branch -Worksheet with a partner
- (5 Minutes) Wrap Up/ Introduce Homework
- Ask: What is Foreign Policy? How are foreign and domestic policy related? What are the benefits/drawbacks of the division of power between the executive branch and the legislative branch?
- Intro HW: Students will look at how foreign policy is made by looking at the National Security Council as well as what influences policymaking. They will do mini-simulation during the next class where they will consider the options that the U.S. NSC had in response to 9/11.
Homework
- Students read and complete Part 3+4 of the guided reading handout:
- Part 3: What is the National Security Council?
- Part 4: How Do Forces Outside Government Influence Policymaking?
Class Two
- (5 Minutes) Debrief/ Discuss HW: What is the NSC? Why was it created? What forces influence policymaking? What is the relationship between domestic and foreign policy?
- (15 Minutes) Complete: Part 5+6 of the guided reading handout.
- Part 5 - What is the Relationship Between Domestic and Foreign Policy?
- Part 6 - How Do Treaties Get Made? (4:52 video)
- (15 Minutes) Take A Stand: CFR Education Mini-Simulation: U.S. Response to 9/11
- Read: “Overview”, “The Situation”, and “Policy Options” as a class.
- Take a Stand: Assign three corners of room for the policy options. Students will move to the corner they agree with.
- Option #1: Do not take military action
- Option # 2: Implement targeted military action against al-Qaeda leadership responsible for 9/11
- Option #3: Launch a war against al-Qaeda and those who support the group in and outside Afghanistan.
- Give students a couple minutes to discuss why they picked that option in their corner groups (Each corner supports a different policy). Share and discuss as a class.
- Consider using some of these questions: Why might the U.S. not want to take military action? What are some of the problems that may be associated with taking direct military action against al-Qaeda? Why might launching a war against al-Qaeda and those who support it be problematic?
- (10 Minutes) Debrief: What did the simulation show students about foreign policy? Why is foreign policy so important to what goes on INSIDE a country? Why might making foreign policy decisions be so difficult?
Homework
Choose one of the policy options from the mini-simulation and support your choice with at least three arguments.
Vocabulary
- communist
governments or individuals that follow the philosophy of communism or their interpretation of it.
- drone
an unmanned, remotely piloted vehicle generally used for reconnaissance and combat. Also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
- intellectual property
original works created by an author, technological inventions, business marks and designs, and other “creations of the mind” that are protected by copyright, patent, and trademark laws.
- Kyoto Protocol
a 1997 agreement reached in Kyoto, Japan, that amended the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
- multilateral
undertaken among three or more entities, usually countries. The term frequently describes organizations such as the United Nations (UN).
- Osama bin Laden
the Saudi-born cofounder and longtime leader of al-Qaeda, killed in Pakistan in 2011 during a raid by U.S. Navy Sea, Air, and Land Teams (SEALs). Bin Laden was the driving force behind the September 11, 2001, attacks, among others.
- pandemic
disease outbreak that has reached at least several countries, affecting a large group of people.
- Paris Agreement
a nearly universal international agreement reached in 2015 that requires signatories to offer concrete emissions reductions pledges, establishes rules to monitor their performance against those pledges, and sets up a process to review and increase the ambition of the pledges over time. The Paris Agreement’s goal is to limit global warming by 2 degrees Celsius (about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial temperatures.