Section III Flashcards
Foreign Policy
A government’s strategy in dealing with other nations.
Rational Actor Model
A decision-making theory that assumes people are rational and make choices that maximize their own self-interest
Rational Model
A model in which decision makers calculate the costs and benefits of each possible course of action, then choose the one with the highest benefits and lowest costs
Affective Bias
Individual rationality is impacted by emotions felt about the consequences of their actions
Analogies
A policy maker uses an analogy of past, historical policies and uses it as a shortcut. Often limits rational calculation and cost/benefit comparison
Cognitive Bias
Limitations of the human psyche, the tendency people have to try to maintain mental models of the world that are logically consistent, will tend to rely on cognitive shortcuts.
Projection
Assuming other people are like us
Satisficing
Searching for a satisfactory policy/solution, rather than the optimal solution
Wishful Thinking
An overestimate of the probability of a desired outcome
Organizational Process Model
A decison making model in which policy makers or lower-level officials rely largely on standardized responses or standard operating procedures.
Standard Operating Procedures
When issues are seen by low-level decision makers who apply general principles-or who simply try to make the least controversial, most standardized decisions
Groupthink
The tendency for groups to reach decisions without fully assessing their consequences because individuals tend to go along with ideas they think others support. Essentially it squashes creativity, people hop on the bandwagon
Bureaucratic Politics/Government Bargaining Model
Sees foreign policy decisions as flowing from a bargaining process among various government agencies that have somewhat divergent interests in the outcome, a mix of the interests of different state agencies
Department of State
Federal executive body responsible for managing American foreign affairs, advising the President on international relations, and representing the U.S. in diplomatic missions and international organizations
Department of Defense
A cabinet-level executive branch agency that coordinates and supervises the nation’s armed forces, with the overarching goal of maintaining global security and promoting U.S. national interests through military strength and diplomacy
National Security Council
A US agency that advises the president on national security and coordinates national security policies in foreign policy matters
Interest groups
Coalitions of people who share a common interest in the outcome of some political issue and who organize themselves to try to influence the outcome
Military-industrial complex
A huge interlocking network of governmental agencies, industrial corporations, and research institutes, all working together to promote and benefit from military spending
Isolationism
Foreign policy that advocates a nation’s non-participation in international economic and political relations, focusing instead on its own domestic affairs and avoiding entanglements or alliances with other countries
Internationalism
A foreign policy that advocates for greater political, economic, and cultural cooperation between nations
Unilateralism
A foreign policy approach where a state acts independently to pursue its national interests without seeking the approval or cooperation of other countries
Multilateralism
A diplomatic approach where three or more countries cooperate and coordinate their actions to address shared issues or pursue common goals, often through established international organizations
