The daunting task of foreign policy will be approached with very different goals and strategies by the two presidential candidates, according to Tufts professors.
President Bush's decision to engage in a preemptive war in Iraq was likely the most controversial decision of his presidency, and perhaps the most polarizing in terms of the support he gathers now.
While America has a long history of imperialism and unilateralism in foreign policy, a greater extent of cooperation has generally been respected since World War II, according to Department of Political Science Professor Tony Smith.
"International law and organizations were usually seen - and correctly - as on balance a 'force multiplier' for the U.S.," Smith said. "The boldness with which the Bush administration denounced multilateralism was new."
Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy diplomatic historian Alan Henrikson said that U.S. relations with the United Nations would be affected by who won the election.
"The U.N. community feels very challenged by the Bush administration," Henrikson said. "When Bush spoke before the general assembly, he made it very clear that the U.N. would have to prove that it was relevant, or else, by implication, it would be ignored and bypassed."
Henrikson dispelled criticism of Kerry's statement in the first presidential debate that a president's decision to go to war would be subject to a "global test."
"He mentioned the idea of a global test, and what he meant by that I think is certainly not that the U.S. would have to get a permission slip from the U.N.," Henrikson said.
"What he meant by it was that U.S. foreign policy should meet a test of reasonableness so that not only foreigners but also Americans themselves would consider what we are doing [makes] sense in light of the facts and in light of what our commitments are. The global test is not some external test, it is also our test."
The ambiguity of the reasons for going to war with Iraq has raised questions of deception on the part of the president.
"Recent polls have shown that Bush voters tend to believe - about two thirds [of Bush supporters] - that Saddam had a major WMD industry going and that he was working with al-Qaeda," Smith said. "Both beliefs are mistaken but allow a population frightened by Sept. 11 and patriotic in defense of the homeland to vote for the Republicans whom they correctly identify as being more aggressive militarily."
Questions about North Korea have also appeared in debates and campaign speeches. Bush has made it clear that he prefers multi-party negotiations with the country, while Kerry said if elected, he would return to the single-party talks employed by the Clinton administration.
However, Henrikson said that both techniques should be used at the same time.
"This is not a case of either/or," Henrikson said. "Nearly always, multilateral talks and bilateral talks go on simultaneously. It's not a case of having to do it one way or the other."
While concerns about the budget have been pivotal on domestic issues, rarely has either candidate addressed the effects of a healthy U.S. economy on influence abroad.
According to economics Associate Professor David Dapice, the move from a federal budget surplus to a "significant deficit" has led to a decrease in the value of the dollar and left the U.S. economy worse off.
"If the dollar starts a serious decline, that would tend to raise U.S. prices [of imports] and interest rates. That would depress housing, bond and stock prices and reduce wealth, which could by itself cause a U.S. recession," Dapice said. "Reduced U.S. imports would further slow the world economy, on top of high oil prices."
Dapice said this has affected the U.S. role in the global balance of power. While the U.S. military is powerful, "soft" financial power is often decisive in international relations.
"The U.S. has lost a lot of its 'soft' power and it may find it harder to exercise any power if it runs into fiscal and balance of payments problems," he said. "Its military will remain dominant but without many allies, and having aroused feelings of antagonism, many things it wants to do will be harder if there are fewer resources and friends."
- Keith Barry contributed to this article.
