The recent accession of Senator J. William Fulbright to the chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has provoked fresh consideration of the complexities of bipartisanship. Senator Fulbright in past years has been a frequent critic of the policies pursued by President Eisenhower and Secretary Dulles. Moreover, his advance in status symbolizes the growing influence of the younger Democrats on the committee, such as Senators Mansfield, Kennedy, and Humphrey, who are more critical of prevailing orthodoxies than their senior colleagues. These shifts in personal influence direct our attention to fundamental questions about bipartisanship. How far may a democracy go in stifling debate on basic issues in the name of national unity? How far may responsible men carry criticism and dissent in times of national peril? What is the proper relationship between the two-party competition for power and the framing of foreign policy? That is, when is foreign policy properly a partisan issue?