Policy Diffusion and Transfer as Foreign Policy Instruments: A Classification with Evidence from Brazil and China

Abstract

AbstractAs it is widely recognized, countries employ various distinct strategies and instruments in order to accomplish their foreign policy objectives. That means there are several kinds of foreign policy (FP) instruments or tools. A typology of FP instruments should arguably include the following categories: (1) political, (2) economic, (3) cultural, and (4) military instruments. Political instruments (1) encompass the various sorts of diplomacy; the building of international coalitions or alliances; the creation of international organizations or the instrumentalization of existing ones; and the promotion of international regimes. The economic instruments (2) of foreign policy comprise foreign aid; economic and trade policies; and economic sanctions. There are at least three kinds of (3) cultural instruments: the establishment and promotion of a national identity; the search for improving the country reputation abroad through so-called “nation branding”; and knowledge and values promotion. The military instruments (4) of foreign policy are persuasion via military threat or pressure and the use of plain force, i.e. the making of war. After presenting the distinct drivers for international policy diffusion, the chapter contends that policy diffusion should be understood as a rather usual and important FP instrument. In order to demonstrate how frequently the promotion of policy diffusion (PD) has been used as a means to accomplish foreign policy objectives, the chapter discusses how PD may be associated with the several foreign policy instruments that were just presented. Afterwards we give examples from both Brazilian and Chinese experiences, past and present.