Originally published on the CGS blog on July 1, 2011.
Republican candidates are often typified by their hawkish stances on foreign policy. In the past, GOP’ers followed their general stereotype, often pushing for the continued placement of troops and the protection of military spending. However, in the upcoming presidential election, Republicans are turning the tables…on each other. Instead of sticking with the typical GOP foreign policy stance, some candidates are embracing a new isolationist position, while others continue the hawkish tradition.
For example, we will begin with the foreign policy of Michele Bachmann, the representative from Minnesota and presidential hopeful. Her stance is not only seemingly in conflict with traditional Republican stances, but also seems to be in conflict with itself. Bachmann claims that she wants to take a “tougher stance” than Obama on authoritarian regimes and dictators. This statement has the semi-abrasive flavor of a typical Republican foreign policy, however, despite her tough-on-dictators position, Ms. Bachmann does not support Obama’s actions in Libya and wishes to end them. Her more isolationist tendencies came to light when she stated that she wished to pull troops out of Afghanistan.
Compared to Bachmann, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s stance is much more traditional (and, as a whole, a lot less self-conflicting). He admonished other Republicans for even suggesting military budget cuts, and has little desire to see troops leave Afghanistan. Isolationism is far from his mind, although he is breaking with other Republicans in his stance on Saudi Arabia. He claims that the country, a U.S. ally (and particularly one of G.W. Bush) is in need of cultural reform. He wants to attempt to end discrimination there against women and religious minorities.
Mitt Romney, the former Governor of Massachusetts and 2010 GOP candidate, is also retreating into a more isolationist stance. Both he and Jon Huntsman, another candidate and the former governor of Utah, characterize their foreign policy with an exit from Afghanistan.
Though this is but a brief summary of very general foreign policy issues, it is clear that Republicans are not exactly in agreement. In fact, the only thing that they seem to reach an accord on is their support of Israel. Because opinions are so varied in the GOP camp, foreign policy will likely be a deciding factor when nomination time rolls around.
