Foreign policy is the way a country chooses to interact with other countries and global institutions. It encompasses a wide range of activities, from making trade agreements and providing aid to developing nations to using military force in times of crisis. It is a complex field, with different schools of thought offering differing approaches.
Generally, a country’s foreign policy is driven by its economic and security interests. It seeks to protect its citizens both at home and abroad, and promote its values. It also seeks to preserve a world balance of power, where no single nation or region has significantly more military power than the rest.
The United States, for example, has long pursued democracy promotion as a part of its foreign policy, believing that people in other countries want the same things that they do: jobs, good government, affordable food and technology, and a stable climate. But it also recognizes that not all countries are democratic, and thus it has worked to maintain a balance of relationships, including with autocratic and nondemocratic governments that share some core principles of human rights.
Because there is no centralized world-level government that dictates how nations should interact with one another, it is a complicated task to manage international relations. Diplomacy is a key component of foreign policy, and great leaders such as George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower were both excellent soldiers and diplomats. Countries that are members of international organizations like the United Nations and the Organization of American States have some measure of coordination, but they often still need to negotiate bilaterally with one another. Presidents can rely on statutory authority, such as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and certain Supreme Court decisions, to pursue specific foreign policy goals.