Final answer:
Legislators are less active on foreign policy matters due to the direct impact of domestic policies on constituents, who influence public policy through various civic actions. The United States is a representative democracy, not a true democracy, because citizens vote for representatives who make decisions on their behalf. Voting rates in the U.S. are lower in comparison to many other democracies. true.
Step-by-step explanation:
Legislators and Foreign Policy Versus Domestic Policy
House members and senators tend to be less active on foreign policy matters than on domestic ones because domestic policy matters resonate more strongly with the voters at home. Issues like a sluggish economy, health care costs, and crime are more directly affecting constituents than U.S policy toward other countries. This can be reflected in the fact that in an open-ended Gallup poll about the "most important problem" in the United States, fewer than 10 percent of respondents named a foreign policy topic.
Citizens' interaction with policymaking occurs by various means, influencing public policy through their votes, campaigning efforts, and direct communications with elected officials. Public opinion enables elected officials to understand the public's desires and for the public to express their stances on different issues. Yet, when it comes to complex policies like foreign policy or tax policy, public opinion tends to have less sway over elected officials' decisions.
While citizens elect representatives who make policies on their behalf, often there is a gap between constituents' knowledge and their actual opinions, especially regarding areas such as the US foreign aid budget. This means that elected officials must balance their constituents' preferences with their own understanding of the policy issues.
As for the notion of a true democracy, the United States operates as a representative democracy where citizens elect representatives to vote on their behalf, which differentiates it from a direct democracy, where citizens would vote on policies directly.
Regarding domestic versus foreign policymaking and the duration of executive agreements versus treaties, domestic policymaking often gets more attention from legislators due to direct voter concerns, while executive agreements are typically less enduring than treaties due to their different legal standings.