U.S. foreign policy making centers on the president. Based on provisions in the Constitution and historical precedents, the president has become the focus of foreign policy agenda setting and implementation. The Constitution gives the president strong formal powers, such as commanding the nation’s armed forces, signing treaties, recognizing foreign ministers and governments, and appointing ambassadors. The president also has inherent advantages and informal powers—he (and eventually she) is the only elected official with a national constituency who acts as a political party leader, possesses clear powers as a unitary actor, and always remains in session. Still, despite these advantages and resources, the president is hardly free from constraints and influences in foreign policy decision-making.

The president is surrounded by an inner circle of advisers, staff members, and cabinet secretaries, all of whom have interests and opinions in the foreign policy process as well. This chapter also discusses how the role of the vice president may vary from active to relatively passive in foreign policy decision-making. The president also has executive councils that operate to inform and advise the White House and yet are separate from the bureaucracy. The most notable position is that of the national security adviser, who has played a large role in foreign policy decision making since Henry Kissinger held the post in the Nixon administration. This position became even more central following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Presidents, however, use and manage their advisory networks differently. Various models of foreign policy management style exist, ranging from less organized competitive models to more orderly and hierarchal formalistic models.

The president also faces constraints outside the executive branch. The international system often determines the global environment in which states operate, and the president is not free from issues that arise from the balance of power among countries and military rivalries. Indeed, the Obama administration struggles within the “zone of twilight” of political power, the informal and personal aspects of presidential decision making, to be seen as central to the foreign policy process. The president’s character, worldview, and management style play vital roles in determining the primary goals to be pursued by the United States and the means chosen to achieve them. The president is thus not removed from the domestic political environment, which includes elections, political party influences and rifts, congressional challenges, and bureaucratic issues. The Supreme Court, though it often refrains from addressing foreign policy issues, can restrict the president’s ability to act. This has been especially evident in the war on terror. Presidents also face the psychological limitations and challenges discussed in Chapter 3, such as limits on time, energy, rationality, and ideology. Finally, foreign policy issues that are not anticipated or among the president’s priorities are often brought to the agenda by international crises, Congress, or the media. Thus, the president remains the most powerful unitary actor in foreign policy but is not free from constraints on power.