Review: Regional Studies: Disconcerted Europe
| Date | 01 June 1996 |
| Author | Paul Buteux |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070209605100224 |
| Published date | 01 June 1996 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
REVIEWS/REGIONAL
STUDIES
387
foreign
policy
and
made
it
a
partisan
playing field.
At
the
same
time
Lindsay
believes
it
is
a
mistake
to
underestimate
Congress's
influence,
since
it
does
have
a
number
of
ways
of
making
its
preferences
felt.
He
also
rejects
as
crudely
oversimplified
the
view
that
electoral
preoccu-
pation
explains congressional
behaviour.
In
search
of
the
true
degrees
of
Congress's
bearing
on
foreign
policy,
the
author
tours
the
institu-
tion,
examining
its
powers,
venues,
and
procedures.
Some
of
the
traditional
sources
of
power
are
found deficient.
The
ability
of
presidents
to
make
executive
agreements
has
removed
treaty
ratification
as
a
major
influence.
Much
more
frequent
and
effective,
although
diffuse
and
complex, are
procedural
requirements
built
into
legislation
to
affect
foreign
policy.
Also
diminished,
to
the
point
of
tan-
gential
influence,
are
the
Senate Foreign
Relations
Committee (a
relief to
those
who
have difficulty with
the
idea
of
Jesse
Helms
as its
chair)
and
the
House Foreign
Affairs
Committee.
Much
more
important
are
the
com-
mittees
that
can
appropriate
money.
And
contrary
to
the
view
that
growing
interdependence
is
multiplying
the
opportunities
for
domestic
committees
to
intrude
into
foreign
policy,
he
finds
their
involvement
very
limited.
Also
exaggerated
is
the
influence
of
ethnic
lobbies.
To
a
considerable
degree,
Congress's
involvement
in
foreign
policy
is
guided
by
the
beliefs
of
the
individual
members on
what
is
good
for
the
country,
aided
by
a
broad range
of
public
tolerance
for
differing
foreign
policy
positions. The
complexity
arises
from
Congress's
char-
acteristically
interactive
way
of
selecting
issues,
consolidating
opinion,
and
calculating
political
effect.
In
showing
how
that
works
in
practice,
the
book
is
always
balanced,
judicious,
and
aptly
illustrated.
Dan
Madar/
Brock
University
DISCONCERTED EUROPE
The
search for
a
security
architecture
Edited
by
Alexander
Moens
&
Christopher
Anstis
Boulder
co:
Westview,
1994,
xiv,
271pp,
US$
5
6.
9 5
Anyone
looking
for
a
path
through
the
maze
of
institutions
involved
in
the
search
for
a
new
European
security
architecture
and
for
a
guide
to
the
acronymic
inventions
that
mark the
way
will
find
this
book
useful.
To continue reading
Request your trial