• It is the actions, decisions and goals that states pursue towards the outside world
• the deriving motives behind foreign policy is the pursuit of national interest
  • States adopt foreign policy to achieve and promote their national interests
• Foreign policy is shaped by both external/systemic factors and internal factors
  • external/systemic factor
    • International regimes, international organizations
    • the prevalence of great powers at international level
  • internal factors
    • economic, technological and military capabilities of states

2.1. Defining National Interest

• the raison de`tat, (the reason of state), to justify its actions and policy towards other states at international level
• set of values, orientation, goals and objectives a given country would like to achieve in its international relations

controversies on the exact meaning, scope and contents of national interests

• According to A. K. Holsti
  • an image of the future state of affairs and future set of conditions that governments through individual policy makers aspire to bring about by wielding influence abroad and by changing or sustaining the behaviors of other states
  • Power or the ability to influence the behaviors of other states is underscored as the primary instrument to implement national interest
• According to Seabury
  • In normative sense – set of purposes which a nation…should seek to realize in the conduct of its foreign relations
  • descriptive sense – those purposes which the nation [states] through its leadership appears to pursue persistently over time

whether national interest can be defined objectively( science ) or whether it is a subjective enterprise ( art )

• For Plato
  • the good of the polis (that is the public good) could best be arrived at by philosopher king aided by a few highly learned, detached and fairminded advisors
  • Plato‘s ideas have been used as the inspiration for dictatorial forms of government
    • assuming that they should emphasize substance and wisdom of policies rather than procedural issues such as public debate, consultation, participation and criticism
    • one person with strength, wisdom, knowledge, and, above all, power can make good decisions than participatory decision making

Note

• foreign policy decision is not necessarily a clear-cut and rational process, Policies are often generated through great internal political and bureaucratic debates

• Depending on time, location, your orientation toward the world around you, and in particular the action of your predecessors, you may choose one of two major style of operation
  • act in a bold and sweeping fashion/ synoptic orientation
    • Up on taking office, introduce major new practices, policies, and institutions and discontinue
    • assuming there is enough information to develop a major policy with some confidence that its consequence can be predicted or controlled
  • act in caution, probing, and experimental fashion/ incremental
    • following the trial and error approach
    • assuming complexity of political and economic problems and worrying about their consequence
    • seeks to perfect existing legislations, policies, institutions and practices

2. Ideological Criteria

• identify their friends or enemies countries using the litmus test of ideology
• Example: During cold war, the ideology of communism and capitalism

• act morally
• moral behavior, in international politics involves
  • keeping your promise –treaties
  • living and letting others live (the poor and the disadvantaged)
  • avoiding exploitation and uneven development between the developing countries and the developed ones
• Generally standing up for the principles to which you are morally committed and that are widely accepted in your culture

4. Pragmatic Criteria

• orientation is low key, matter of fact, not on emotions and professions
• look at issues and events around you and the world with sense of prudence and with sort of rationality
• Act on the basis of the scientific analysis of cost and benefit or merit and demerit to your country interest
• without considering normative issues, issues that involves judgment, be it bad or good

• consideration of your professional survival and growth, in short your personal success
• leaders might choose conformity to either to popular pressure or to strong elites whose support they consider indispensable for their political survival
• This attitude has been referred to cynically as the “go along to get along effect”

• equate the survival and the success of your political party, or ethnic or religious origin with the survival and success of your country
• equate the interest of your organization (the army, the foreign office, and so forth) with the national interest

• usually applies to less developing countries, who had fallen under the yoke of colonialism, and now, even after political independence, kept the colonial ties with their ex-masters intact
• dependent on their ex-colonial states for technical aid, expertise and technology, sometimes even for their security
• As a result of this state of dependency, the less developing countries face difficulties to defend and promote their national interest

Views on determination of national interest

• Realist view
  • prioritize pragmatic criteria when defining national interest and employing foreign policy
  • defines national interest in terms of pursuits of power
    • power is about establishing control or influencing the behaviors of others, either diplomatically or use of coercion
  • International politics is a struggle among states and thus the prime interest of state is survival and security among other things
  • national interest – ensuring survival and security of a state, than talking about justice and morality
  • Leaders must be aware of that scope of national interest and their foreign policy should be proportional to their capabilities
    • prudence should be the virtue of leaders
    • Prudence is the ability to assess one‘s needs and aspirations while carefully balancing them against the needs and aspirations of others

• Idealists view
  • strong belief in the relevance of legal, ideological and moral elements
  • They don‘t see legal and moral factors apart from the so called “reality”
  • specific actions and objective of foreign policy have often been derived from general moral and legal guidelines and principles etc

• Realists fail to recognize and prescribe solutions for addressing global problems because of the exclusive emphasis given to state and national interest
• Idealists believe on the prevalence of common problems of human beings as environmental pollution, ecological imbalance, depletion of resource
  • The establishment of new institutions with global orientation may play vital role in addressing global problems, instead of the state-centric particularism, States could no longer be viable actors in addressing cross cutting problems by themselves

• It is something that a state would like to achieve in its external relations with others
• It involves the general purposes and specific strategies a state employs to achieve or promote its national interest
• According to Rochester, foreign policy refers to
  • the set of priorities and percepts established by national leaders to serve as guidelines for choosing among various courses of action in specific situations in international affairs
• These objectives, visions and goals state aspire to achieve is commonly referred as national interest
  • All states would like to promote their national interest as their capability or power allows them to do
  • scope and content of foreign policy of a state is often determined by the capabilities of the concerned state
• minimum goal a state would like to achieve is survival – protect their physical, political, and cultural identities against any encroachment by other states
• Foreign policy also involves specific instruments and tactics that must be employed to realize those objectives and goals. The most widely employed instruments include
  • diplomatic bargaining
  • economic instruments
  • propaganda
  • terrorism (sabotage)
  • use of force (war)

• Foreign policy, just like any policy, sets short term, middle term and long term goals and objectives to be achieved in proportion to a state‘s capability
• Such classifications of foreign policy objectives is based on the combination of the three criteria
  • the value placed on the objective
  • the time element placed on its achievement
  • the kind of demands the objective imposes on other states in international system

• those kinds of goals for which most people are willing to make ultimate sacrifices
• stated in the form of basic principles of foreign policy and become article of faith that society accepts without any questioning it
• related to the self preservation of political and economic systems, the people and its culture, and the territorial integrity of a state
  • core interests and values, is to ensure the sovereignty and independence
• others goals cannot be realized if the existence of the state and its political units are not ensured
• The exact definition of core value or interest in any given country depends on the attitudes of those who make foreign policy
  • Some governments place great values on controlling or defending neighboring territories
    • Extraterritoriality – when the national interest and claims of a country is projected beyond the limit of its geographic boundary. Example: Israel and the United States
  • States may think that their national interest is at risk when the interests and security of citizens, or kin ethnic or religious groups living in the neighboring states and other states are threatened
    • So, liberating or protecting the interests of such individuals and groups might be considered as part of its core national interest

• Unlike, the short range objective, the middle range objectives drastically varies across states, due to difference in the level of economic and technological progress, as well as the military capability
• Yet, bottom point that a state would like to achieve in its medium term is
  • to take a course of actions that have the highest impact on the domestic economic and welfare needs and expectation
• Social welfare and economic development, ca not be achieved through self-help, as most states have only limited resources, administrative services, and technical skills
  • Interdependence means that to satisfy domestic needs and aspirations, states would have to interact with others
  • Trade, foreign aid, access to communication facilities, sources of supply, and foreign market are for most states necessary for increasing social welfare

• Long range goals are those plans, dreams, and visions concerning the ultimate political or ideological organization of the international system, and rules governing relations in that system
  • Note: In pressing for middle range goals , states make particular demands against particular interest
• in pursuing long range goals, states normally make universal demands, for their purpose is no less than to reconstruct an entire international system according to a universally applicable plan or vision
• long range visions and dreams may have international repercussions as far as they are complemented by the capabilities and powers
• Every country has its own visions and ambition proportional to its relative strength and capabilities to be realized in the long run

2.2.3. Foreign Policy Behavior: Patterns and Trends

• Foreign policy behavior refers to the actions states take towards each other
• these actions usually are not as ends in themselves, but are tied in some way with larger purposes, from long range objectives to short term objectives

all foreign policy behavior ultimately boils down to three possible pattern

• maintaining the status quo/ the existing reality for one own benefit
• Example: USA
  • international institutions (IMF, World Bank, GATT/WTO) that were established following Second World War have been strongly shaped by United States
  • underlying philosophy of such institutions, and even the decision making procedures are all shaped to serve the global interests of the country
  • These days U.S has become the sole defender of the international system and the liberal economic-political order

• modern states rely up on each other for resources and commodities that enable them to develop and sustain viable economies
• degree of dependence and interdependence varies across states
• states often uses their economic muscle to influence the behavior (action, perception and role) of others
  • States may reward or punish states through the manipulation of economic policies
• economic, particularly trade instruments of foreign policy are normally used for three purposes, namely
  • to achieve any foreign policy objective
  • to increase a state‘s capability or deprive a potential enemy‘s capabilities
  • to create economic satellites (guaranteed markets and resources of supply)
• When rewards are offered or economic punishment are threatened, at least two conditions must be fulfilled to make the exercise of influence effective
  • the target of the influence or act must perceive that there is a genuine need for the reward or for the avoidance of the punishment
  • no alternative market or source of supply must be easily available to the target

• Almost all foreign made products coming into a country are taxed for the purpose of raising revenue, protecting domestic producers from foreign competition, or other domestic economic reasons
• tariff structure can be used effectively as an inducement or punishment