Guiding Foreign Policy In The United States

The United States was established as a democratic nation, in which it prides itself in a government by the people. One of the basic ideas is that the elected leaders serve the citizens by making decisions that would reflect the public preferences. However, many people believe that the public is not fit to make informed judgment about public policy, especially on foreign matters. Nevertheless, the public opinion continues to provide an essential guide for foreign policy makers. The reason for this is that American citizens are capable of guiding foreign policy, using their knowledge, coherent attitudes, as well as deeply held values and beliefs.

In a democracy, the citizens have an obligation to be informed about public issues. They also have

In spite of this, surveys have shown ongoing public support for the U.S.’s active engagement in foreign affairs (book). Only a minority of people would consider themselves “isolationists”, while most favor an internationalist foreign policy. Furthermore, the knowledge gap about foreign issues is not limited to the mass public. Even U.S.’s counterterrorism officials do know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite, the two very important Islamic sects in the Iraq’s war. In addition, the changing in public opinion has to do with the context of problems rather its lack of understanding. Americans’ beliefs that the U.S.’s power should be use to prevent clear threats to the national interest led them to support intervention in some situations and restraints in others. Last but not least, studies have suggested that citizens are not easily manipulated by their leaders. Rather, they are able to distinguish vital U.S. interests from those that are not worth risking American lives