This article advances a theoretical model of the National Economic Council (NEC) based on a policy network approach and group decision-making theory to explain why the U.S. president’s NEC represents a significant development in the rise of the intermestic policy- making and decision-making processes. It develops theoretical conceptions of interests and manipulation based on a Policy Network Approach and the Advocacy Coalition Frame- work in policy studies research to illustrate the complexity of NEC group dynamics. Hope- fully, such a contribution can further existing theoretical frameworks in the field of policy studies and analysis and can add to assessments of the NEC in policymaking and deci- sion-making. Unlike much of the prevailing research, this article perceives the NEC as a political instrument used by policymakers and decision makers to protect their policy inter- ests and engage in forms of political manipulation to increase their power over economic policy.
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International Studies Perspectives
Research demonstrates that the National Economic Council (NEC) and the decision-making process through which economic issues must pass are essential components in the evolution of American foreign economic policy. This article will examine the functions and responsibilities of the NEC in the making of U.S. foreign economic policy under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. It selects key policies, namely inter- national monetary policy, fiscal policy, and trade liberalization, and ex- amines key issues within each in order to provide tentative answers to questions regarding foreign economic policy and the emergence and development of the NEC. Also, this article supplies an overview of the large body of research on international economics and foreign economic policy. Furthermore, it identifies key U.S. foreign economic policy issues developed and coordinated by the NEC. The article concludes with a discussion of to what extent the NEC is a significant development in U.S. foreign economic policy and in the making of foreign policy.
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