Legislative basis of the US Department of State: a historical background

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the formation of the legal framework that enabled the existence and functioning of the State Department of the United States of America as the main body in conducting the country's foreign policy. The author emphasizes that certain historical conditions in which America found itself in different periods of its existence became a challenge for the continued existence of the State Department and the entire diplomatic service, and therefore the question of modernizing the US diplomatic service and transferring it to another was constantly on the agenda, a qualitatively new level. That is why, since the gradual departure from the idea of isolationism, American ruling circles have tried to "build" a diplomatic service that has all the hallmarks of flexibility, professionalism, and democracy. The author notes that the direct basis for the existence of foreign service is the US Constitution, although it does not fully answer the question of foreign policy by the US State Department, although it outlines the role of the US President in foreign policy. In general, the author emphasizes the changes in the status of the State Department and the diplomatic service, which were introduced by relevant legislation (Rogers Act of 1924, the Foreign Service Act of 1946 and 1980, etc.), the need for which was caused by certain historical conditions of existence of the American state and its place on the world stage.