U.S. Security Assistance to Third World Nations: What Drives Congressional Support?

Abstract

Since the Vietnam War, Congress has increasingly asserted itself in U.S. foreign policy, including security assistance relationships with Third World nations. This has led to significant conflict between the executive and legislative branches, and the need to explain Congressional voting behavior on security assistance. Using 15 cases including aid to the Contras and El Salvador during the Reagan presidency, this thesis investigates the relative impact of various factors on congressional support for security assistance, including public opinion and the level of Soviet bloc assistance. The research concludes that the most powerful determinant is the Third World government whose behavior congress is trying to change.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1988
Accession Number
ADA202033

Entities

People

  • Gregory J. Hlubek

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Case Studies
  • Central America
  • Congress
  • Foreign Aid
  • Foreign Policy
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • International Organizations
  • Law
  • Military Assistance
  • Military Education
  • Military Training
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Terrorists
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Government and Public Administration Law.