US foreign policy decision-making processes and institutions

The purpose of this thesis is to study how US foreign policy decision-making processes are conducted and what the variables, which have an impact on the process, are while trying to reach the final decision. For this purpose, in the first part of the thesis it was examined who have constitutionally the authority to make foreign policy decisions and what the rights and obligations of these authorised bodies are. In addition to this, it was put on emphasis on non-govermental bodies and societal sources of American foreign policy which try to shape the decision-making processes. In the last part of the thesis, in accordance with the US foreign policy approaches, American foreign policy culture, the principles and dilemmas of the country's foreign policy and the factors which can shape the decision-making processes are analyzed at both national and international levels.