Presidential Agenda Setting in Foreign Policy

Abstract

The traditional model of agenda setting places the Presidency as the primary agenda setter in American politics, particularly in foreign policy. Recent challenges to the traditional model argue that the President's foreign policy agenda is inherently responsive to media coverage and international events (Edwards and Wood 1999; Wood and Peake 1998). These studies rely on examinations of a restricted set of highly salient and vitally important foreign policy issues and find limited presidential influence on the foreign policy agenda. I extend the previous analyses of foreign policy agenda setting by examining foreign policy issues that are less salient and arguably less vital to American national security interests. The extended analysis suggests that Presidents have greater influence on the agendas of the media and Congress than recent research suggests. When systemic attention to an issue is generally light and the President makes the issue a policy priority, presidential success in setting the agenda increases.