A New Federalism for United States Foreign Policy

Abstract

United States foreign policy is taking on a new federalist dimension marked by increasing state government involvement and tentative steps at forging national/state structures to manage this relationship. Foreign policy has been the exclusive domain of the national government, legally since the constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation in 1 788 and practically since the national government attained effective enforcement powers in the mid1800s. Over the last century subnational governments had little interest in and virtually no influence on foreign policy matters. The catalyst for change in this scenario was the evolution of the United States economy into true global interdependence. In the 1970s foreign economic forces penetrated deeply into domestic economic life, impinging upon traditional areas of state government power. At the same time the economic component of foreign policy achieved new importance internationally, intruding further into the 'high politics' of political and military concerns. During the past decade United States states created and improved programmes that drew them directly into the competitive net of international commerce. State governments recognized that exports and imports, as well as direct foreign investment, exert substantial impact on the health and wellbeing of their local economies. State efforts therefore aimed at promoting exports, restricting imports, and attracting job-creating investments. On a broader level this new activity also led to