ABSTRACT
The impact of domestic factors on American foreign policy making is hardly surprising for a democratic society. Political leaders depend upon public support, and they necessarily must be responsive to various domestic audiences and supporters. At the same time, the notion that foreign policy is constrained or shaped by domestic considerations clashes directly with the traditional realist view that foreign policy should be directly responsive to the requirements of the international system. A focus on the domestic arena, however, does not imply that the external behavior of other states fails to affect the actions of the United States; rather, the reliance on domestic sources provide a more complete explanation of U.S. foreign policy actions than simply viewing them as a response to international behavior. Domestic sources range from the individual values and beliefs that political leaders bring to, and employ in, making foreign policy choices to the larger societal values that have influenced the views of U.S. policy makers over the history of the Republic. Within the American political system, too, the competing executive, legislative, and judicial branches—and the actors within them—can affect the choices and direction of foreign policy. Furthermore, noninstitutional structures and actors, such as political parties, interest groups, the media, and the public, also affect the foreign policy choices of political leaders. This entry discusses the diversity of these domestic sources and begins to assess their relative influence in the foreign policy process.
