Chapter 4 Flashcards
Foreign Policy
What is Foreign policy?
refers to a government’s strategy for interacting with other countries and international actors
What does it involve?
It involves diplomatic, military, economic, and cultural efforts to advance national interests.
Examples of Foreign policy?
Negotiating treaties, protecting security, promoting trade, providing aid, advocating for human rights, and engaging in cultural exchanges.
What do decision-makers do?
- set goals
- Evaluate the relative importance of those goals
- Calculate the costs and benefits of each possible course of action
- Choose the one with the highest benefits and lowest costs
What is the Organizational process model
Foreign policy decisions are often made through routine procedures or “muddling through” rather than through a structured goal identification process, and they don’t consider alternatives.
What is Bargaining model (bureaucratic politics model)
it means that when making foreign policy decisions, different government departments or agencies push for their own interests, resulting in a mix of influences shaping the final decision.
What is Affective bias
Is when emotions cloud our judgment and influence our decisions, making it harder to make rational choices based on weighing the costs and benefits.
What is Cognitive bias
Cognitive biases are like glitches in our thinking that cause us to make mistakes when we’re trying to be logical. They can lead us to justify our actions, engage in wishful thinking, view our enemies negatively, see others as similar to ourselves, or project our feelings onto others.
What is Group psychology
- can promote rationality (P)
- Can introduce new sources of irrationality (N)
-Groups tend to be overly optimistic about the chances of success and are thus more willing to take risks
-Groups diffuse responsibility from individuals
What does group thinking mean in crises?
-Groupthink occurs easily during crises
-Sometimes leaders purposefully designate someone in the group (a devil’s advocate) to object to ideas
What are the domestic influences on foreign policy?
- Diplomats
-Tensions between agencies
-Interest groups
-Lobbying
-Military
-Public opinion
What are Interest groups?
-teams of people with the same interest in a certain political issue.
-they team up to influence the outcome of decisions made by politicians or governments.
Lobbying?
- having a conversation with lawmakers or government officials to convince them to make decisions that align with your interests on certain topics.
What are the 3 important elements of lobbying?
- Ability to gain a hearing with busy officials
- Ability to present proper arguments for one’s case
- Ability to trade favors in return for positive action on an issue
What is the military-industrial complex?
It’s a tightly woven web of government agencies, companies, and research centers that all collaborate to provide the military with what it needs.
Example of the military-industrial complex
This collaboration became really important during the Cold War because of the focus on technology and making sure the military had what it needed to stay strong.
Public opinion
- Many domestic actors seek public opinion
-Has a greater influence on foreign policy in democracies than in authoritarian governments
-Even authoritarian governments spend great effort on propaganda to win support for foreign policies
Who are the key players in the face of public opinion?
- Journalists, as they are holders of information that is passed on to the general public from policymakers.
-Importance of the government as a source of information
Fundamental question: How much does a country sacrifice its interests to advance international goals, such as the interests of allies?
- trade-offs between a country’s priorities and the interests of others
- Ally with countries who share similar interests, and keep your country’s interest in mind.
What is it meant by “rally around the flag.”
-is when people support their leaders or government more strongly during a crisis or conflict. It’s like when everyone puts aside their differences and gets behind their leaders, especially during challenging times like wars or national emergencies.
What is divisionary foreign policy?
Is when a government starts a conflict or takes aggressive actions abroad to distract people from problems or issues at home. It’s like trying to shift attention away from domestic problems by focusing on something happening in another country.
