University of the West Indies, Mona

Department of Government

GT12A Introduction to International Relations

Lecturer: Ms. Diana Thorburn

Lecture 10

Topic: Foreign policy

Objectives:

  1. Understand what foreign policy is
  2. Know the different factors involved in making foreign policy
  3. Understand the different theoretical models of foreign policy making

ONE. NATIONAL INTEREST AND FOREIGN POLICY

What is foreign policy?

  • The ideas or actions designed by a nation-state’s policy makers to solve a problem related to other nation-states, or to try and effect change in the policies, attitudes or actions of another state, states or international actor, the international economy, or the physical environment of the world
  • The stated approach of a government in its relations with other states and international actors
  • What a country actually does in its relations with other states and international actors
  • The difference made because often stated policy ¹ what actually happens
  • There can be a "gap" between what is said and what is done
  • Not only in foreign policy but in government policies in general
  • "Policy science" a field of study in itself

Why does a country have a foreign policy?

  • A country makes and conducts its foreign policy to pursue its national interest given the nature of the international system
  • Four purposes of foreign policy common to most if not all nation-states:

one. Security of its geographical territory and its citizens

two. Autonomy in its decision making

three. Welfare of its population

four. Status and prestige among other nation-states

  • Not all countries place equal emphasis on these four aspects, nor do they place equal emphasis on them over time
  • The importance of the different aspects changes depending on the nature of the international system and on the nature of domestic politics, economics and social demands
  • What each of these aspects means for different countries also varies widely from one country to another, and from one period of time to another
  •  

Other possible motivations for a country’s foreign policy:

one. Protection of ideological, ethnic or religious principles and practices in other countries or on behalf of other groups within another country

e.g. Arab support of Palestine, human rights issues

two. Ambitions of world reorganization

e.g. Napoleon, Hitler, Soviet Union

 

Difference between foreign policy and international relations

  • Foreign policy consists of the aims and actions of a nation-state to other nation-states and international actors
  • International relations comprises the interactions between nation-states and other international actors
  • The study of international relations includes the analysis of foreign policy and of other types of interactions between nation-states and other international actors

 

 

 

TWO. HOW FOREIGN POLICY IS MADE

  • Does foreign policy depend more on internal politics in a country, or external conditions and situations?
  • The weight of the influence of internal factors versus external factors depends on the foreign policy issue, and on one’s perspective on how foreign policy is made
  • Foreign policy decisions, to varying degrees, are influenced by a number of internal and external factors:

External factors

one. A country’s political position/situation in the international system, and the nature of the system

two. International norms

o        What are accepted patterns of behaviour

three. Nature of the world economy

o        What kind of trading regime prevails in the international economy?

o        Are countries segregated into trading blocs?

four. A country’s geography—its physical location in the world

o        The nature of its territory—an island state, land-locked, a federation of islands, sharing a continent, covering an entire continent, size, natural resources

o        The politics of its neighbours

five. Obligations under international law and international treaties to which a state is signatory

six. World public opinion

o        E.g. apartheid in South Africa

o        Sympathy for civilian casualties in wars

o        Influenced by growth of international electronic media

seven. The policies, actions and influence of other states

eight. The nature of the issue and if it is a crisis situation

Internal factors

one. Economic situation of a country

two. Domestic political ideology and internal political culture

o        Different political ideologies have different implications for a country’s foreign policy

E.g. a socialist regime might seek alliances only with other socialist countries, economic policy and approach to the international economy different from that of a capitalist country

three. Domestic forces and influences

o        government bureaucracy

o        political opposition

o        interest groups

o        public opinion

four. Qualities of single leaders, whether the prime minister or minister of foreign affairs

o        How interested is the decision-maker in a particular issue?

o        What is his/her own experience in/knowledge of the foreign policy issue?

five. Understanding of history

six. Ethical considerations

 

Key questions to ask when evaluating a country’s foreign policy

    • What are a country’s goals?
    • What variables constrain or endanger the country from pursuing or achieving those goals?
    • What policies have been formulated/implemented in the past to achieve these goals?
    • What was the result of the policy? Did it achieve its aims? If so, how? If not, why not?

 

THREE. FOREIGN POLICY DECISION-MAKING MODELS

  • There a number of models used to describe how foreign policy is made
  • Rational, bureaucratic/organizational and societal models
  • Each model considers different factors, influences and processes as important in understanding how foreign policy is made
  • Some models consider internal influences more important than external and vice versa
  • One country might employ all three models in formulating different foreign policy decisions
  • Can also be considered in terms of levels of analysis

Rational model

  • Foreign policy decisions are based on a government’s analysis of the best way to pursue its national interest given the nature of the international system
  • Foreign policy is based on the state’s decisions as an automonous actor
  • Public opinion not considered
  • Alternatives clearly laid out and costs and benefits of different choices are weighed
  • Decisions made on "logical" expectations of outcomes

Four steps in rational decision-making:

one. Problem recognition and definition—what is the nature of the problem? What are the motivations and capabilities of the other actors involved?

Two. Goal selection according to objectives

three. Identification of alternatives and costs and benefits of each

four. Make a decision—choose one path and follow it

  • Often used in a crisis situation when there is only a short time to make a decision
  • However in a crisis situation there is usually not enough to time to garner enough information to make an optimal decision
  • Less participation from other stakeholders
  • When one country knows little about another’s domestic situation, they might assume that country follows a rational model
  • E.g. USSR thought to have followed a rational foreign policy model during the Cold War—which the US then responded to in its Cold War policies
  • E.g. China thought to follow such a model considering its immunity from democratic pressures
  • Sometimes called the "billiard ball" model—just as billiard balls move when one ball hits against another, states behave according to another state’s actions

 

Bureaucratic/organizational model

  • Decisions are based on the inputs and analyses of organizations within the government, not only the foreign policy ministry
  • Decisions made according to standard operating procedures and processes of a government bureaucracy
  • Precedents influence future policy
  • Major changes are unlikely
  • Conflicts can occur when departments, groups or individuals within the government have opposing or competing interests or goals
  • Politics determines the outcome of such conflicts—which individual or department has ultimate sway to influence the decision-making process
  • E.g. foreign trade policy might cause a conflict between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Finance
  • This model often used to formulate foreign policy in non-crisis times/issues
  • Large democratic countries with well-developed government bureaucracies often use this method
  • One can only know such a model is used when one has access to information about the way a country’s government is run

Societal model

  • Foreign policy made based on the inputs of a variety of societal actors
  • Public opinion, political, social and economic interest groups, opposition political organizations, and multinational corporations (MNCs)
  • Interest groups can influence foreign policy directly, by making formal submissions to government
  • Or indirectly by lobbying influential people and/or mobilizing public support
  • E.g. new trade policy said to have been formulated by consultations with "civil society"
  • E.g. French farmers dumping vegetables and blocking highways to protest liberalisation of agricultural sector
  • Organize international NGOs to gain support for their cause internationally
  • E.g. Jamaicans for Justice and Amnesty International
  • Heads of high-profile MNCs might be able to contact the Minister of Foreign Affairs or even the Prime Minister directly
  • Movement to bank land mines based on societal influences on foreign policy—activists mobilized in the international media, lobbied international organizations, and national governments

Marxist views on foreign policy making

  • State decision-makers do not have real choices in foreign policy making
  • Decisions are constrained by the structure of the international economic system
  • The only societal actors who can influence the process are members of the elite and MNCs
  • Thus none of the three models can explain foreign policy making, but a combination of domestic and external influences
  • The export or import of socialist revolution is the only worthwhile foreign policy goal/action

Table one

FOREIGN POLICY MAKING IN THEORY AND IN PRACTICE

Ideal rational process

Common actual practice

Accurate, comprehensive information

Distorted, incomplete information

Clear definition of national interest and goals

Personal motivations and organizational interests influence definition of national interest

Exhaustive analysis of all options

Limited number of options considered, none thoroughly analyzed

Optimal course of action selected

Course of action selected by political bargaining and compromise

Effective statement of decision and rationale behind it

Confusing and contradictory statements of decision framed for media consumption

Careful monitoring of implementation of decision by bureaucracy

Neglect of tedious task of managing implementation by bureaucracy

Instantaneous evaluation of consequences followed by correction of errors

Superficial policy evaluation, uncertain responsibility, poor follow-through, and delayed correction if any

 

Table two

CONTENDING PERSPECTIVES ON FOREIGN POLICY

 

Liberalism

Realism

Marxism

How foreign policy is made

Organizational/bureaucratic and societal model of decision-making

Emphasis on rational model; unitary state actor

States have no real choices; decisions dictated by economic capitalist elite

Determinants of foreign policy

Largely domestic

Largely external/international

Largely external; internal elements are co-opted

Table adapted from Karen Mingst, Essentials of International Relations, New York: Norton, 1999.