The Role of the State Department Although the rest of this website deals with the way Presidents have shaped foreign policy, it's important to remember that it is impossible for one man -- even a Theodore Roosevelt or a Woodrow Wilson -- to run the foreign policy of the United States.  As the United States maintains diplomatic relations with over 180 nations today and has missions to international organizations like the United Nations and the European Union, it's even more absurd to believe that presidents today can formulate policies for all of America's relationships with foreign government.  So to understand foreign policy in action, you have to understand the State Department. Role in Government The State Department is the most senior of all Cabinet departments.  The Secretary of State is fourth in the line of presidential succession (although Secretary of State Albright, like her predecessor Secretary Kissinger, could not serve as president due to the constitutional requirement that the president be a native-born citizen).  Traditionally, secretaries of state have been America's spokesmen abroad and close advisers to the president. Several important and high-profile agencies operate under State's aegis, including the United States Information Agency, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.  In addition, embassies abroad will normally have offices several U.S. executive departments (such as Defense or Commerce) due to the interdepartmental nature of modern foreign relations. Role Abroad State's mission involves maintaining American leadership in the world.  It carries out this mission by negotiation, trade pacts, and cultural exchanges.  The centers of the department's activities overseas are its embassies, consulates, and other missions.  Embassies are considered to be sovereign U.S. territory, and are protected by the United States Marine Corps. In addition to its primary responsibilities to the U.S. government, State also facilitates business and private activity abroad by providing passports and monitoring international developments. Behind the Scenes The State Department relies on two kinds of employees to fulfill its duties: Foreign Service Officers and Civil Service employees.  FSOs  staff embassies and other posts and are State's front-line troops, while the department's 5,000 Civil Service workers (who are based in the United States) aid them. Significance of the State Department Without the State Department, America would not be able to provide the leadership it does today.  A huge amount of effort is required to maintain daily contacts with foreign governments, gather information, and make policy recommendations to the executive branch.  It's instructive to note that presidents who have generally trusted the State Department (Eisenhower, Truman, Clinton) tend to have a higher level of democratic input than presidents who attempt to go it alone and run foreign policy out of the White House, as did Nixon and, to some extent, Reagan.   Campaign2000     Introduction      Bush      Gore      Nader      Buchanan      Citations   Internships    Senate:      Republican      Democrat        State Department        White House        Council on      Foreign Relations   Careers   State Department:      Civil Service      Foreign Service

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