The state and foreign policy Flashcards
The four fundamental elements to a state
- Territory
- Sovereignty
- Population
- International Recognition
Definition of Nation
People that share a common history, culture, language, and customs. Feeling of commonality
Definition of Nationalism
Nations should form their own states: Nation-states
States enjoy sovereignty but are not autonomous actors as there are many other actors in the international system.
States represent different interests, and national interests are many and changing. There are governmental and social interests.
The nation is a possessor of sources of power
There are opportunities for cooperation among states
States are interdependent
Need to take into account legal and ethical constraints
The liberal view of foreign policy
States are autonomous actors with a single voice. They are only constrained by the anarchic state of the international system.
Their interests are only defined in terms of power.
- The strategy should be to find the ultimate combination of hard and soft power
- Countries only care about relations with the most powerful countries
- We should not impose our values or institutions on others
- Permanent interest instead of ideologies
- All states are potential rivals, therefore we can not trust international organizations
- Today’s ally can be tomorrows enemy
The Realist view of foreign policy
The state is an agent of the upper class. The national interest is the upper-class interest which evolves around economic goals.
The capitalist system sets the standards for state functionality. Sovereignty is not possible due to capitalist pressure.
The Radical view of foreign policy
What is power?
The ability to influence not only people, but also processes, in a way that would not have occurred naturally
Three resources to state power
- Geographical power/geopolitical power
Size and position, population, borders - Natural resources
Ex: oil reserves - Populations
Demographical aspect. The pros and cons of size
Three ingredients on how to use natural resources to implement foreign policy
- National image
- Public support
- Strength of leadership
Tangible sources of power
It can be measured.
- Industrial development
- Class differences
Intangible sources of power
It can not be measured
- National image
- Public support, leadership
Where does the term dovish and falcons come from?
The US fighting the spread of communism in Vietnam. They lost public support and had to give in
Five steps to a policy process
- Recognize the problem
- Set a goal or objections
- Develop a range of policy options
- Choose the most desirable option
- Create a policy to implement the strategy to reach the goal
Domestic policies
Made by governments for its population and territory where it has a legal authority
The strategy implemented by the state to safeguard national interests and achieve aims within the international system. It is an extension of domestic policy.
What you can not achieve with the resources of your own country, you must look for resources from outside your borders.
Public support is important. Leaders must read the interest of its population.
Foreign policy
Problems with implementing Foreign Policy
- All states are sovereign, but power is unequally distributed.
- States are no longer the only actors
- Globalization impacts the concepts of sovereignty and state.
- States are interlinked. My problem is your problem
- No clear division between domestic and foreign policy
- Objectives of foreign policy are determined by changing ideas and values
- The survival of the state is the core of the national interest of every state
- Differences between planning and implementation
Three levels of analysis
- The international system
Realist, liberal, Marxist approach to see how the state reacts to the international environment. Competition/cooperation - The State
Actors that take part in the foreign policy decision making - Individuals
Psychology and ideas of leaders
5 steps in the policy process
- Agenda Setting
Who sets the agenda? the type of government - Policy formulation
Who designs a new policy - Policy adoption
Who has the power to adopt decisions - Policy implementation
Who will be affected and how - Policy evaluation
Is there a need for a revision in the agenda, formulation or implementation
What is the FP Black box?
The Realistic perspective sees the state as a single entity in foreign policy decisions. The government is the single “decision-maker.” states will do whatever it takes to achieve the national interest.
Opening up the black box, one will find that the FP arena is a multilateral arena. Multiple actors influence FP decisions. Bureaucracies seek their own interests and can be a huge problem for FP strategies.
Political leaders can not control the whole governmental structure. Leaders must think about the nature of the population.
What is the goal of FP?
Achieve national interest.
The national interest is static. True/false
False. The national interest is always changing. National interest varies throughout a country’s history, reflecting different approaches to FP and tensions between foreign and domestic policy.
What is the basic national interest?
The survival of the state. Therefore, a state will not give up a part of their territory
Policymakers must take the interest of other states into account. True/false
True
Policies must be responsive to internal political factors. True/false
True
What is the challenge to the traditional ways of defining the national interest?
The new environment in which new actors influence the setting of the aims for FP
Three national interests
- Security interests
- Economic interests
- Ideological interests
National security interests
- protecting national borders
- ensuring the safety of citizens from harm by foreign enemies
- Protecting allies
- Protecting areas of military importance
National Economic interests
- protecting economic investment abroad and at home
- Protecting the means and routes of trade
- Protecting the competitiveness of key domestic industries
- Maintaining economic power to ensure economic self-determination
National ideological interests
- Protecting and/or promoting the cultural and/or religious values of a nation or a people
- Advancing and protecting a universal conception of freedom, justice, progress and/or human dignity
- States are the main actors
- They wish to increase power
- The system is anarchic. This creates a vulnerability that -leads to competition and conflict.
- All states share the basic national interest of maximizing its power for security.
The Realist theory to define National interests
forcing others to do what you want through economic or military coercion
Hard power
Being recognized as a leader/model that others want to follow
Soft power
The liberalist theory to define National interests
- States do not only compete for power, but they also try to spread their values and see the efficiency of cooperation.
- Political regimes and the policy-making process determines the resulting policy
- Domestic actors and structures determine foreign policy
- International rules and norms constrain state behavior.
- States have the responsibility to uphold liberal values and norms in the world
- Human rights
The theory on the democratic peace
- Liberalist theory
- Proves the realist perspective wrong
- States should forward democracy
R2P responsibility to protect.
Liberal interventionism
- If a leader can not protect his own people, the rest of the international community has the responsibility to protect that population
- Wor to stop major human rights abuses in domestic conflicts
- Military intervention as a last resort
- When abuses are imminent
Difficulties regarding R2P
Requires the UN security council resolution. It must be in the interest of all P5
The Marxist theory to define the national interest
- Your social class determine your interest
- The class struggle between transnational economic elite and transnational working class
- Need for workers solidarity, regardless of nationality
- States are instruments of the ruling elite to maintain the exploitation of the working class
Structuralism and dependency theory
Marxist theory. The dependency of the third world from the capitalist powers
Marxist theory on foreign policy
- Implemented after WW2
- Cooperation between socialist states to confront capitalist states
- Defense of workers of all countries
- Support the third world against colonialism
- International organizations must be reformed to represent all countries equally
Constructivist theory on national interest and foreign policy
- Understanding how actors perceive reality
- Our ideas determine our interests
- States an international environment according to their identity, rules, and norms
- States actions are influenced by social relations with other actors
- The psychology of leaders
Discourse analysis
- Constructivist theory
- How language and words explain how we perceive reality
FP implementation is a form of strategic dialect. What is a strategic dialect?
Strategic=clear definition of objectives and instruments
Dialect=interplay between strategy and context
The interplay between FP actors and the environment
implementation=a process
- One state action will have an effect on the international scenario. This will also affect that specific state.
- Even the most powerful actors can not expect to be able to implement their interest in the international scenario
The strategic decision model
- Context
The international context keep changing. There is not a static structure of international relations. - Interplay
The interplay between actors is mediated by the role of ideas and discourses. How does the context respond to actors behavior, and how is it communicated domestically - Constant feedback from the actor to the context and vice versa. Restructuring or leaving the environment unchanged, as well as the actor
- The interplay between context and decisions made by decision-makers
- The psychological environment: decisionmakers and the public
- Once the new policy has been implemented, this changes the context of the external and internal operational environment, as well as the decision-maker
The horizontal dimension
- From near to far, regional to global
- Shared borders, resources, interests, cultures
- only a few states can aspire to have a global frame of reference
- small states can constrain the powers of superpowers by planning a good foreign policy.
How can small states plan a good foreign policy?
Assessment of means, goals, resources and public support
The vertical dimension.
4 dimensions
-The international system is stratified into functional layers
- Political dimension
Social and normative layer - Economic layer
a variety of actors of different nature
3.Asymmetrical distribution of military power - Cultural dimension
Important due to globalization. Fundamentalism and terrorism
-Policymakers must make sure that these dimensions do not contradict each other
What is the implementation of foreign policy?
Transforming one’s objectives to outcomes
five instruments of FP
- Diplomacy: negotiation
- Positive sanctions: aid, trade agreements
- Negative sanctions: boycotts, embargos
- Political intervention: Propaganda, interference
- Military action: invasive, occupation
Capabilities of FP
Resources made operational
Resources in FP
Climate, position, geography, population, size, level of education, the strength of armed forces, skills of people
