The way the executive can make promises to other countries that are binding for future administrations is to do it as part of a treaty that gets ratified by the Senate.
The German unification happened under the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany which has Russia and the United States as parties. If Russia’s position at the time had been that they only agreed with German unification if a promise was made not to expand eastward, they could have asked for it to be included in that treaty.
If they would have done that, it would have been binding for future US administrations in a way that statements by a foreign ministers aren’t.
There are plenty cases like the sanctions against Belarus that are a much better example of the United States actually not uploading promises it made.
Also it seems that in extreme cases, formal agreements aren’t enough either. For example the USA’s pretty much unilateral cessation of many of its commitments under the Iran nuclear agreement the moment Trump took office. That one was supposed to go on for a-LOT more years.
The way the executive can make promises to other countries that are binding for future administrations is to do it as part of a treaty that gets ratified by the Senate.
The German unification happened under the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany which has Russia and the United States as parties. If Russia’s position at the time had been that they only agreed with German unification if a promise was made not to expand eastward, they could have asked for it to be included in that treaty.
If they would have done that, it would have been binding for future US administrations in a way that statements by a foreign ministers aren’t.
There are plenty cases like the sanctions against Belarus that are a much better example of the United States actually not uploading promises it made.
Also it seems that in extreme cases, formal agreements aren’t enough either. For example the USA’s pretty much unilateral cessation of many of its commitments under the Iran nuclear agreement the moment Trump took office. That one was supposed to go on for a-LOT more years.
Yes, I would see stepping out of that agreement with Iran also of a real breach of promises. Bush also broke formal promises made to North Korea.
I don’t think NATO expansion fits into that category.