The Partisan Corruption of U.S. Foreign Policy

Intense partisanship has become a major corrupting influence in the formulation of, and debate about, U.S. foreign policy, with domestic political opponents often being seen as enemies as much as foreign adversaries are. This pattern has become significantly more marked during the past three decades for reasons related to the end of the Cold War, the revolution in Republican Party tactics led by Newt Gingrich, and the fractionation of information into politically defined silos. Partisan-motivated behaviors include efforts to outbid the opposing party on themes that appeal to popular emotions but do not serve national interests. They also include opposition for the sake of opposition and sabotage of the other party’s conduct of foreign relations. Consequences have included unnecessary embroilment in foreign conflicts, sacrifice of diplomatic opportunities, meddling in domestic U.S. affairs by foreign regimes, deterioration of foreign policy infrastructure, and exacerbation of public misconceptions. Prospects for improvement of the situation are poor, given the absence of factors that have rescued the nation from intense partisanship in the past.