The U. S. Constitution and Foreign Affairs

We reflexively think of the Constitution as a framework for political life in the United States. Yet it also frames the conduct of foreign policy. Characteristically, the Constitution provides for the division of power over foreign affairs between the executive and legislative branches. The Constitutional principle of separation of powers limits the power of any single actor or branch, in foreign affairs as in other policy areas. It also ensures potential conflict between the President and Congress over foreign policy.

An increasingly vigorous debate rages over U.S. policy in Iraq in America today, from dinner tables across the country to the two ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. Three distinguished scholars from the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin sat down in September 2007 to discuss the Constitution's organization of power over foreign affairs. These conversations about the Constitution inevitably turned to the urgent matters of the day: the implications for the present and future of US policy in Iraq.

The video clips below present highlights from these conversations. They are designed to celebrate the anniversary of the US Constitution by provoking thoughtful, informed discussion of one of the most pressing issues facing the public. They are available in captioned versions for viewing on your computer as well as downloadable versions for portable players that will also play in large windows on your desktop.

Excerpts from these interviews are available in captioned versions for viewing on your computer as well as downloadable versions for portable players that will also play in large windows on your desktop. Viewing the segments below requires the QuickTime video player. Download QuickTime.

Media

James Lindsay, Director of the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, gained firsthand experience in the relations between the executive and legislative branches when he served on the National Security Council in 1996-1997. He discusses the origins of the oft-cited "invitation to struggle" between the branches, and compares how this tension played out in the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. In the third video clip, he discusses the consequences of Congress ceding war power to the President.

"Invitation to struggle" (384k) | m4v
Comparing Clinton and Bush (384k) | m4v
Exercising war powers (384k) | m4v

Elspeth Rostow, the Stiles Professor Emerita in American Studies and a Professor of Government at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, was appointed to multiple boards and commissions by Presidents Carter and Reagan. Professor Rostow explains how the Framers of the Constitution organized the powers over foreign affairs. In the subsequent video clips, she explains that presidents have been able to draw upon an expanding pool of power in foreign policy, and argues that the second Bush administration has mounted an explicit effort to permanently expand presidential prerogative and power in a "unitary executive".

The Framers & foreign affairs (384k) | m4v
Expanding the "pool of power" (384k) | m4v
Creating a "unitary executive" (384k) | m4v

Peter Trubowitz, Associate Professor in the Department of Government, is co-author (with Charles Kupchan) of a major assessment of the United States' global strategy in the July/August 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs, as well as the author of books, articles and op-ed pieces dealing with the politics of U. S. foreign policy. Professor Trubowitz explains how immediate concerns shaped the Framers' distribution of power over foreign affairs. He then dissects the current conditions that seem to provide the President with substantial power over U. S. policy in Iraq, despite significant opposition to the war both among the public and in Congress. In the final video clip, he discusses the implications of the public perception of a scarcity in international security for the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches.

Framers' concerns (384k) | m4v
Presidential initiative & Iraq (384k) | m4v
Perceptions of security (384k) | m4v

People

James M. Lindsay, is Director of the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law and Tom Slick Chair for International Affairs in the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Government, and served on the National Security council during 1996-1997. His books include Congress and Nuclear Weapons (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), Congress and the Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994), and (with Ivo H. Daalder) America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy (Brookings Institution Press, 2003) which was awarded the 2003 Lionel Gelber Award. He recorded for the Constitution Day project in 2007.

Elspeth Rostow was the Stiles Professor Emerita in American Studies and a Professor of Government at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, where she served as Dean from 1977 to 1983. Prior to that she served as Dean of the UT Austin Division of General and Comparative Studies. She also taught at Barnard, Sarah Lawrence, MIT, Georgetown, American University, and the University of Cambridge. At the LBJ School, Rostow taught courses on the American Presidency and U.S. foreign policy.
Rostow served as a member of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and the President's Commission for a National Agenda for the Eighties. In 1987, President Reagan appointed her to the Board of the United States Institute of Peace, which she later chaired. Rostow was a Trustee of the Southern Center for International Studies (Atlanta) and a former member of the Board of Advisors to the President of the Naval War College (Newport). She died in 2007 at the age of 90 on December 9, 2007. She recorded for the Constitution Day project in September 2007.

Peter Trubowitz is an Associate Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin and a senior fellow at the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law. His publications include Defining the National Interest (Chicago) and The Politics of Strategic Adjustment (Columbia), and various journal articles, book chapters, and opinion pieces on world politics, US foreign policy, and American politics. Dr. Trubowitz has held research and teaching appointments at Harvard, Princeton, MIT, the University of California San Diego, Beijing Foreign Studies University, el Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (Mexico City), and the Universidad de Chile (Santiago). He recorded for the Constitution Day project in 2007.