Clintonism

is defined by an adherence to public opinion such that foreign policy came as a result of calculating the domestic impact of his foreign policy initiatives by relying heavily on polling data.

This chapter has argued that Bill Clinton, the first wholly post-Cold War president, devoted only sporadic attention to traditional foreign policy issues. While he cared deeply about the global economy, he viewed it primarily through the eyes of a domestic policy president striving to sustain American prosperity by winning access to foreign markets. But on issues such as Somalia, Haiti, North Korea, Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo (until Operation Allied Force began), and even China, Clinton's foreign policy advisors had difficulty keeping him focused. Furthermore, because of his extreme sensitivity to public opinion, Bill Clinton usually tried first to calculate the domestic impact of his foreign policy initiatives by relying heavily on polling data.

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Richard Melanson