How America Really Makes Foreign Policy

American foreign policy is supposed to be made through presidents, Congress, cabinet agencies, and the National Security Council. In practice, the process is far messier.In this episode of Buffer State, Sasha Stern, Reid Smith, and Justin Logan look inside Washington’s policy machine, the institutions, incentives, personal relationships, and media ecosystem that shape American foreign policy.The conversation explores how the formal policymaking process is supposed to work, why academia and think tanks play very different roles, how Congress has lost influence relative to the executive branch, and why access to policymakers can matter as much as ideas themselves. They also examine how think tanks can provide intellectual cover for policies officials already want to pursue, the growing influence of cable news and new media, and what it actually takes to shape foreign policy in Washington.Chapters:00:00 Inside the Policy Machine01:14 How American Foreign Policy Gets Made05:02 The Formal Process vs. How Washington Really Works08:29 Why Academia Lost Influence on Foreign Policy19:12 What Think Tanks Actually Do24:59 Who Influences Whom?28:53 Think Tanks, Political Parties, and the Revolving Door33:21 How Presidential Power Changes the Policy Process36:31 How Foreign Governments Navigate Washington40:07 Why Congress Has Lost Influence on Foreign Policy45:16 Why Congress Avoids Voting on War47:38 How Media Shapes Foreign Policy52:59 How to Build Influence for the Next PresidencyReferenced in this episode: Jeremy Shapiro — Who Influences Whom? Reflections on U.S. Government Outreach to Think Tankshttps://www.brookings.edu/articles/who-influences-whom-reflections-on-u-s-government-outreach-to-think-tanks/Benjamin H. Friedman & Justin Logan — Why Washington Doesn’t Debate Grand Strategyhttps://css.ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/center-for-securities-studies/resources/docs/AFRI_Friedman.pdfWho do you think has the most influence over American foreign policy today — the president, Congress, think tanks, or the media? Let us know in the comments.Subscribe to Buffer State for more conversations on foreign policy, national security, and American power.