The Oxford Handbook of Foreign Policy Analysis

Abstract

Abstract The Oxford Handbook of Foreign Policy Analysis repositions the subfield of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) to a central analytic location within the study of International Relations (IR). Over the last twenty years, IR has seen a cross-theoretical turn towards incorporating domestic politics, decision-making, agency, practices, and subjectivity—the staples of the FPA subfield. This turn, however, is underdeveloped theoretically, empirically, and methodologically. To reconnect FPA and IR research, this Handbook links FPA to other theoretical traditions in IR, takes FPA to a wider range of state and non-state actors and connects FPA to significant policy challenges and debates. By advancing FPA along these trajectories, the Handbook directly addresses enduring criticisms of FPA, including that it is isolated within IR, it is state-centric, its policy relevance is not always clear, and its theoretical foundations and methodological techniques are stale. The Oxford Handbook of Foreign Policy Analysis provides an inclusive and forward-looking assessment of this subfield. Edited and written by a team of world-class scholars, it sets the agenda for future research in FPA and in IR.