How should a nation-state develop its foreign policy in accordance to its values and in connection to the development of its domestic policy?

A nation-state should develop its foreign and domestic policies in accordance with its values in order to be a high functioning, highly productive government. While this objective does seem very valuable and even necessary to the success of a government it would appear that here in the United States we are not always successful in providing this balance here at home. 

I think that in order to provide this balance it is important that the government's policies reflect its core values. At the heart of this argument is what our own country represents and if our policies support and project those representations. For example, the United States is a democracy built on the ideal that we are self sufficient, a land of freedom, opportunity and a model of democracy. In some ways we do support these ideals. We promote justice and the spread of democracy in countries that have dictatorships and we have formed social policy that allows for immigrants to naturalize here and benefit from our social resources. We also have in place a system of checks and balances to ensure the longevity of a democracy. One example of this is the budget. While the president initially makes up the budget based on their political agenda the Congress must then approve it. If the Congress is not of the same political makeup as the president they may conform the budget to suit the political agenda of their political majority. "The president and Congress, in effect, share power over the budget; conflict is inevitable between them as each branch tries to impose its own priorities." (Draper 295) One example of budget woes is going on right now "leaders of both parties publicly staked out seemingly inflexible positions while staff members worked in private on a possible compromise to finally pass the 2011 budget." (Kane) It is in the same manner that our countries foreign policy is also driven by the political agenda of the president and the Congress and I believe this sort of activity "blurs the line between monetary and fiscal policy." (Draper 308)

In contrast, our country also has foreign and domestic policies that do not necessarily reflect our core values. One example would be how low are taxes are in contrast to other successful democracies. In comparison to other rich democracies we have relatively low taxes however, we pay the price for these low taxes with less government paid services. Other successful democracies pay out generously for child care and health care in return for higher taxes. "In many other rich democracies, the government either provides child-care services directly or gives more generous subsidies for child care than American families receive" (Draper 292) I do not think that lower taxes in exchange for government paid services is very reflective of our countries core values.

This all makes me wonder the critical question: do you think that the budget should be a collaborative effort? Do you think that it would be easier/better if the Congress or the president were in charge of the budget?

Draper, Alan. The Politics of Power a Critical Introduction to American Government. New York: 

W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2011.

Kane, Paul. "Government Shutdown Looms over Talks as Crunch Time for 2011 Budget Nears - The 

Washington Post." The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - 

Washingtonpost.com. 03 Apr. 2011. Web. 04 Apr. 2011.

 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/crunch-time-for-the-2011-budget/2011/04/03/AFoonzVC_story.html>.