ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the evolution of the presidency in foreign policy making and the consequences for twenty-first-century governance. It examines the constitutional debates about executive and legislative responsibilities in foreign affairs. The chapter traces the development of American foreign policy interests as defined by presidents, from George Washington into the twentieth century. It also examines changing presidential priorities in foreign affairs from the Cold War through the post-Cold War era, focusing particularly on consequences of the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The chapter focuses on the expansion of executive initiative in foreign affairs in the post-9/11 world, with case studies of the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidencies, and the early months of the Donald J. Trump presidency. Presidential initiative in foreign affairs expanded with the rise of the United States as a global superpower after World War II.
