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Executive Agencies

Executive Agencies. Department of Defense: Largest of the agencies involved: more than 2 million people, and consumes about 1/5 of the annual budget. In both terms declined in the 1990s, but recently experienced an upturn.

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Executive Agencies

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  1. Executive Agencies Department of Defense: Largest of the agencies involved: more than 2 million people, and consumes about 1/5 of the annual budget. In both terms declined in the 1990s, but recently experienced an upturn. During the Cold War was very influential, as the rivalry with the Soviet Union was seen in mostly military terms. With the end of the Cold War its influence diminished as more emphasis is placed on the economic aspects of foreign relations.

  2. Executive Agencies Currently it is experiencing a resurgence, as the importance of traditional national security has increased. But it still shares important functions with other agencies in ways not approached during the Cold War: Example: Department of Homeland Security

  3. Executive Agencies The position of Secretary of Defense has almost always been a managerial position, and this has been even more true after the Cold War with the cut in defense resources. Thus institutionally strong, but its representatives in terms of foreign policy not necessarily strong. Rumsfeld: a veteran administrator who has strong ideological views, but must compete with the Sec. Of State, NSA, and V.P. in articulating broad policy.

  4. Executive Agencies Organization: Civilian control Reorganized during Clinton administration to mirror in part the organization of the State Department so it could better compete: offices for regional security, economics, environment, etc. Also reorganized to give the Secretary greater control over the services.

  5. Executive Agencies Each service has a secretary (of army, navy, air force, marines, coast guard) and a chief of staff Joint Chiefs of Staff: heads of all the staffs of the uniformed services. Have direct access to the President, even though technically under Sec. Of Defense. Rivalries: between civilians and uniformed employees; among services; between service heads and Joint Chiefs of Staff

  6. Executive Agencies Interests and Problems: • 1990s: how to provide security during a time of downsizing; now, how to adapt to a new definition of war that involves non-state actors • how to identify threats when the old bipolar world structure is gone • how to carry out tasks like that drug interdiction, peacekeeping, nation-building, and humanitarian missions.

  7. Executive Agencies Central Intelligence Agency: Created by the National Security Act of 1947 as the first peacetime civilian intelligence agency. A response to the onset of the Cold War and the lack of intelligence facilities with the dismantling of the Office of Strategic Services after the war.

  8. Executive Agencies Is an independent, cabinet level agency. Headed by the Director of Central Intelligence, who has direct access to the President, but is also technically under the National Security Advisor. Responsible for coordinating all intelligence activities.

  9. Executive Agencies Military Intelligence: intelligence arms that are attached to each of the services. National Security Agency: a defense-controlled intelligence agency responsible for intercepting and decoding electronic signals, and to prevent other countries from intercepting our signals. Defense Intelligence Agency: created to coordinate intelligence and analysis from the service intelligence arms and provide the Sec of Defense with an impartial analysis.

  10. Intelligence Agencies Several cabinet departments also have intelligence-gathering offices, Energy (nuclear weapons), Treasury (economic, counterfeiting, firearms), FBI (counterintelligence) State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research: analyzes raw intelligence from State and other sources.

  11. Functions of Intelligence Agencies Functions of Intelligence agencies: Gather information, from human, documentary, visual, and electronic sources. Interpret and analyze information for purposes of discovering intentions, possible actions, motivations, and political, economic and military capabilities of other countries.

  12. Functions of Intelligence Agencies Uncover possible crises before they occur, and create information necessary to deal with them. Weak, however, in retrospective analysis, and often not accurate in forecasting. Clandestine activities meant to further the national interest, but damaging if done publicly.

  13. Agencies National Security Council: Headed by the National Security Advisor, who is responsible for all information and analysis having to do with national security. Is usually closer to the president that secs of defense, state, or director of cia. Usually is someone with experience in State or Defense, or an academic Council itself consists of President, VP, Secretaries of Defense, State, DCI, as well as other selected cabinet members.

  14. Agencies Staff is used to coordinate intelligence, sometimes to gather information, and mostly to create policy options in the national security area. Aspects of national security: threats of violence and terrorism, economic activity, environmental threats, problems with alliances or prospects of opposing alliances.

  15. Agencies State Department Nominally the most important foreign relations agency. Headed by Secretary of State, who is supposed to be the President’s chief foreign relations advisor. Power, however, depends on the situation. Some Secretaries have been given the position as a payoff and aren’t taken seriously. Others are eclipsed by very strong National Security advisors.

  16. State Perceived problems: Liberalism (or conservatism) of career foreign service members. Always considered too elitist. Bureaucratically complicated, therefore slow and institutionally conservative. Timid and unimaginative Very small in budget (about 1/20 of DoD) and employees (1% of DoD)

  17. State Secretary even more torn than other cabinet officers. Is charged with providing President with advice, but also must be close to the bureaucracy. Often must make a choice that limits effectiveness: If stays around WH, then loses effectiveness in leading the department and inflict a loss of confidence and morale in the employees If stays in Foggy Bottom, loses influence in WH and perceived as having been “captured” by the State bureaucracy.

  18. State Structure: Deputy Secretary: day to day manager Undersecretaries: in functional departments: political affairs; global affairs; economics, business and agriculture; international security and arms control; and management. Assistant Secretaries: in charge of bureaus. 16 are functional: Human Rights; Intelligence and Research; Legislative Affairs; Public Relations, etc.

  19. State 6 are geographic and have the most impact in terms of policymaking Desk Officers: staff in charge of particular countries. Career officers. Embassies, Consulates, Missions: headed by a political appointee, but staffed by career professionals. Day to day contacts with foreign governments.

  20. State Foreign Service: The professional body of state department professionals. Entered by competitive examination, and remain in it only by proving oneself worthy of advancement in rank. Tends to see itself as an intellectual elite, and thus is insular in its contacts and views.

  21. State Believes, as with old world diplomats, that the trained generalist is superior to the more rigid and exact knowledge of the specialist. Culture tends toward conformity, consensus, avoidance of conflict and controversy, and other hallmarks of diplomacy, even in policy debates

  22. State Influence of the State Department: Has eroded especially since the end of World War II: Cold War international environment: called for change and imaginative policymaking, which the culture of the Foreign Service was not equipped to deal with.

  23. State Cold War politics: lacked an internal constituency, and thus an easy target for those looking for scapegoats for early Cold War setbacks (China). Has never really recovered. Need for different policies and sources of information: Much of Cold War policymaking focused on national security and the military, while the information needed for that policymaking did not come from formal contacts as before, but clandestine or technical sources.

  24. State Contemporary Influence: As molders of policy: still generate important recommendations and analyses, and manage routine affairs. But in most important areas is mostly eclipsed by NSC, CIA, DoD, as well as Congress and President. As providers of information: must share this role with the various intelligence agencies and with WH bodies.

  25. State Creators of Personal Diplomacy: still important for day to day affairs, but greater mobility of President, other important executive officers, and members of Congress means that most important contacts are not made by State.

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