U.S. Presidents, the Foreign Policy Agenda, and U.S. - East Asian Relations

U.S. Presidents, the Foreign Policy Agenda, and U.S. - East Asian Relations

Agenda setting is central to presidential leadership in the U.S. system. Only recently have scholars begun to analyze the agenda-setting influence of presidents, with mixed results. This paper extends analysis to an issue important to recent U.S. presidents: American relations with East Asia. Specifically, we examine the dynamics of attention by the president, the Congress, and the American media to U.S. relations with East Asia for the period 1984 to 1995. The findings suggest that actors other than the president and events exogenous to the U.S. system have been instrumental in pushing East Asia on to the systemic and policy agendas in American politics. In particular, congressional attention to East Asia has been instrumental in driving the president's public attention and media coverage. However, presidents are not without formidable agenda-setting tools, including travel abroad, which can draw significant media attention to a foreign policy issue.