Bipartisanship and US Foreign Policy

Abstract

Abstract Bipartisanship and US Foreign Policy shows that, even as polarization in American politics reaches new heights, Democrats and Republicans in Washington continue to cooperate on many international issues. A close look at congressional voting patterns and major foreign policy debates of recent years—including over military intervention, the use of economic sanctions, international trade, and foreign policy spending—reveals that bipartisanship remains surprisingly common when elected officials turn their attention overseas. Yet bipartisanship today rarely involves unity in Washington. Instead, bipartisan coalitions often coexist with intra-party divisions or disagreement between Congress and the president, making it difficult for the United States to speak with one voice on the global stage. In short, the politics of contemporary US foreign policy are more nuanced than either headlines highlighting extreme polarization or truisms suggesting that politics stops at the water’s edge would suggest. Drawing on new data and interviews of more than 100 US foreign policy practitioners, the book highlights key factors that influence political alignments among elected officials and provides takeaways for efforts to foster more bipartisanship on important foreign policy challenges.