Repositioning Foreign Policy Analysis in International Relations

Abstract

Abstract This introductory chapter for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Foreign Policy Analysis argues for a repositioning of the subfield of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) to a central analytic location within the study of International Relations (IR). We take a critical perspective on the history of FPA’s relationship with the rest of the discipline and trace the origins and causes of the disconnect that has sometime existed between FPA scholars and the wider IR community. We argue that this disconnect is in need of repair, particularly given developments within IR, such as the ‘end of theories’ debate, problem-driven research, the domestic, ideational, and agency turns in IR, and methodological pluralism. We also argue that in order to play leader, bridge builder, and innovator roles, FPA research must also develop in new directions. We identify the broad trends in FPA research since the end of the Cold War. With this overview of the state of the art of FPA research, the chapter outlines how FPA can challenge some of its own weaknesses and gaps, and contribute to broad disciplinary questions. FPA research in new policy domains, on a wider variety of types of actors, and oriented to significant policy problems can, we argue, redefine FPA, and shape the study and understanding of international politics more broadly.