Foreign Policy

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

The world is a tough place.

Countries are constantly scheming to get ahead, sometimes even making behind-the-scenes plans against their own friends. The set of principles and rules that governments use to develop their relationships with countries around the world is known as foreign policy.

• What kinds of issues does a country have to think about when developing its foreign policy?

Let's take a look at a video that explains the details. As you watch, write down information to answer the following questions:

• What are the five main concerns of foreign policy?
• Who is involved in formulating foreign policy?
• How and why does foreign policy change?

Watch the Foreign Policy: Crash Course Government and Politics #50 video by Crash Course and write down the information and ideas that answer the questions above. Share the information you located with your parent or teacher.

Then, reflect on the following questions and discuss:

• What are some of the particular challenges our leaders face in formulating foreign policy?
• What are factors that can improve the process of creating foreign policy?
• What examples of foreign policy you can think of?
• What factors do you think shaped those policies?

The foreign policy of the United States is shaped by many factors, and various countries' statuses as friends, enemies, or frenemies is determined by the ways in which those countries can serve U.S. interests.

In the Got It? section, explore actual foreign policy by examining U.S. relationships with real countries around the world.