The Asia-Pacific Region Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Asia-Pacific Region - Essay Example The effect of personality on policy continuity has already been affirmed by an unnamed White House official who stressed out that â€Å"personalities matter†¦ in the conduct, formulation, and implementation of [foreign policy]† (cited in Lampton, 2001, p.313). A change in administration means that there is also a change in the personality leading that administration. Such a person may have a different set of visions, follow a divergent ideology, or employ a different mindset from his predecessor. Indeed, â€Å"leadership turnover and regime change† may significantly affect patterns of US policy behavior and â€Å"likely result in foreign policy change and restructuring† (Dixon & Gaarder, n.d., p.185). The policies initiated or planned by the previous administration will experience restructuring should the succeeding president seek to prioritize other policies or tend to misinterpret his predecessor’s intentions or methods of implementation because the ideology he adhered to is markedly opposed to that of the former president. The behavior of US foreign policy has particularly been affected by the ideological differences of Republican-led and Democratic-led administrations. The former tends to be â€Å"more conservative internationalist in orientation,† while the latter is â€Å"more liberal internationalist in orientation† (Rosati, 1994, p.251). The direction of US policy has experienced modifications with every new administration. However, this is not only due to the change in the leading personality or the regime.