The Failure of Foreign Policy Entrepreneurs in the Trump Administration

Abstract

One of the most important decisions a president will make after an election is what kind of relationship he/she will have with cabinet secretaries and agency heads. Will the president be controlling or autonomy giving? George H. W. Bush created a contractor presidency, one that subcontracted management to important officials, giving them considerable freedom, making them policy entrepreneurs. Yet, when it came time to support initiatives, Bush did not back his policy entrepreneurs, which ultimately led to policy failure. Bush's approach to government is informative because of its similarities with Donald J. Trump's strategy, who also created a contractor presidency. But Trump prevented those same executives from building their own teams and gave equivocal, or even contradictory, responses to their policy initiatives. Just as Bush's unsupportive relationship with his policy entrepreneurs led to policy defeat, Trump's contradicting connection with his policy entrepreneurs also resulted in policy failure. Related Articles: Dolan, Chris J. 2008. “The Shape of Elite Opinion on U.S. Foreign Policy, 1992 to 2004.” Politics & Policy 36 (4): 542-585. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2007.00121.x/abstract. Haar, Roberta. 2010. “Explaining George W. Bush's Adoption of the Neoconservative Agenda after 9/11.” Politics & Policy 38 (5): 965-990. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2010.00265.x/abstract.