Development Of Foreign Policy Research Articles

Norms, Indian Foreign Policy and the 1998–2004 National Democratic Alliance

How do national and political identities impact on a state's foreign policy? In turn, how does the analysis of different normative beliefs advance our understanding of India's foreign policy during the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) period? This article utilises a norm-based approach to investigate the composite entrenched beliefs underpinning Indian foreign policy. Such an approach generates historically contingent understandings of foreign policy beliefs across different political generations and ideologies. By focusing on pre-1998 Indian government and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) foreign policy norms, and comparing them with the actions of the BJP-led NDA in government, the paper assesses whether differing ideological beliefs either constrain or influence (Indian) foreign policy. In particular, two elements of Indian foreign policy are analysed—dealing with Pakistan and going nuclear—in order to evaluate continuity and change in the formation and development of foreign policy in India. It is found that although the BJP-led NDA were frequently constrained by underlying norms present in Indian foreign policy, their own established policy beliefs often challenged these norms and influenced new foreign policy directions.

After Khomeini: Iran under his successors

Introduction 1. Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution 2. Dual Leadership and Constitutional Developments after Khomeini 3. Thermidor at Last: Hashemi-Rajsanjani's Presidency and the Economy 4. Revolutionary Ideology and Its Transformation into Islamic Reformism 5. The Rise and Fall of President Khatami and the Reform Movement 6. Social and Political Consequences of the Integrative Revolution 7. Iran's Foreign Policy from the Export of Revolution to Pragmatism 8. Iran's New Political Class and the Ahmadinejad Presidency 9. Khomeini's Successor: Ayatollah Khamenei as the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran 10. The Hardliners, Foreign Policy and Nuclear Development Conclusion Appendix: Two Models of Revolution Notes References Index

Refocusing South Africa's economic diplomacy: the ‘African Agenda’ and emerging powers

This article assesses the prospects for a clearly articulated economic diplomacy approach in South Africa's foreign policy. It argues that while South Africa's foreign policy has been to a considerable extent normatively grounded, it has failed to develop a coherent economic diplomacy that is based on focused and distinctly expressed priorities. This is a crucial gap that limits the country's ability to respond to regional and global changes, in particular those posed by emerging powers. The article identifies a number of gaps in South Africa's foreign policy approach and highlights its oblivion to global developments and geopolitical dynamics in the African continent. It sets out possible policy outlines for developing a clearer and stronger economic diplomacy. The building blocks for such an approach include the identification of strategic foreign policy priorities; greater institutional co-operation among agencies dealing with economic and foreign policy development; synergies between corporate strategies and government's foreign policy objectives; and the need for South Africa to develop a stronger leadership ambition in the African continent, both to contribute to Africa's development and to pursue its own economic interests. This ambition will require awareness of South Africa's own limitations, thus focusing the better part of its foreign policy on a limited set of countries that match strategic priorities.

Going Beyond Paradiplomacy? Adding Historical Institutionalism to Account for Regional Foreign Policy Competences

This article argues that the literature on paradiplomacy has been very successful in conceptualizing the external activities of regions and in making descriptive inventories of paradiplomatic activities and instruments. However, we also claim that it has not yet delivered satisfactory explanations for the development of regional foreign activities. The article offers a theoretical contribution to the paradiplomacy literature, suggesting that complementing paradiplomacy concepts with institutionalist theory can account for variation in the development of foreign policy powers of sub-national entities. The argument is empirically elaborated by a historical institutionalist narrative of the development of regional foreign policy powers of the Belgian sub-national entities. The article argues that the combination of the paradiplomacy agenda with historical institutional theory delivers explanatory insights into the evolution of regional foreign relations competences.

Внешнеполитические проблемы в зеркале общественного мнения в России (2000-е годы)

The article aims to outline a concept of public opinion on foreign policy issues, which is forming in contemporary Russia within society as a whole, resting upon the data resulting from the sociological study of 2000s in comparison to 1990s surveys. At the same time, factors which determined and determine the Russians' perceptions of foreign policy problems are analyzed, and an attempt to apprehend the degree of the real public opinion influence on Russia's foreign policy development and implementation process is made.

Iran's Foreign Policy during Ahmadinejad: From Confrontation to Accommodation

Some scholars have observed that Iran's foreign policy has leaned toward assertiveness since Mahmood Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005. They have tried to attribute this assertiveness to some internal and external factors. After reviewing the literature, we argue that the assertiveness of Iran's foreign policy during the first period of Ahmadinejad`s presidency is rooted in psychological (Ahmadinejad belief system), social (the social base of the new government), political (factional rivalries), historical (ideals of the Islamic Revolution), and external (the way Western countries treated Iran during Khatami) factors. On the contrary, it seems that Iran's foreign policy since the recent presidential election in 2009 has somehow softened and it appears to be less confrontational. This change, if real, may have significant implications for Iran's relations with the Western countries, particularly the United States. We seek to identify the main reasons for this change and explicate its main consequences for the Iranian foreign relations. This paper has four sections. First, we discuss the main features of Iran's assertive foreign policy during the first period of Ahmadinejad`s presidency. Secondly, we try to explain the main origins of this assertiveness. Thirdly, the recent developments in Iran's foreign policy, especially Ahmadinejad`s new moderate orientation, will be discussed and the main causes will be spelled out. Finally, the main implications of this change in Iran's foreign behavior will be discussed. Key words: Iran, Foreign Policy, Ahmadinejad, confrontation, accommodation

The role of parliament in South Africacs foreign policy development process: lessons from the United States' Congress

For most democracies across the world, legislative engagement in foreign policy development has traditionally been limited to ratification of international agreements and oversight of the executive. While the Parliament of South Africa tends to adhere to this traditional approach, deferring to the executive on matters of foreign policy, this paper argues that a collaborative approach between the legislative and executive branches as articulated in the South African constitution must rather form the basis of South Africa's foreign policy development process. Moreover, by comparing the parliament of South Africa, a legislature with limited policy influence, to the United States’ Congress, a policy making legislature, it becomes clear from Congress that political will in employing constitutional power is the most important factor in ensuring legislative engagement in foreign policy decision making.

On the Significance of Culture Construction of European Identity

Being a part of the global integration tide, European Union is becoming the important member in the world of multi-political and multi-economical entity. It is not only the inevitable product of European politics, the economical, the security and the foreign policy development, moreover it has its deep thought background, that is the European identity which is affecting the European integration theory and the practice deeply, therefore has historical status in the European thought history.

Italy in the European Union, between Prodi and Berlusconi

Since it came back into power in May 2008, the Berlusconi government has undertaken a number of important initiatives in foreign policy, especially in relation to the European Union. Three cases concern the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, the war in Georgia and the climate change/energy package. Rather than following a pro- or anti-Europe line, it is argued that the link between all these initiatives is the development of a pragmatic foreign policy, in which the ultimate aim is to promote Italy's economic interests. This means that in some cases the Berlusconi government is supportive of the European integration process, especially when no specific Italian interest is at stake, whereas it does not hesitate to undermine it should it clash with Italy's economic interests.

Between ‘soft power’ and a hard place: European Union Foreign and Security Policy between the Islamic world and the United States

This paper explores the pressures operating on European Union Foreign and Security Policy in the ‘triangle of forces’ created by the European integration process, developments in the Islamic world and the responses of the United States. In the first section, the paper explores ideas about foreign policy and power in the European Union (EU), as exemplified in debates about the Lisbon Treaty and the future role of the Union. The second part of the paper sets out three logics inherent in the development of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, distinguishing between the ‘internal’ logic of the European integration process, the ‘external’ logic reflecting the opportunity structure in the world arena, which creates challenges and opportunities for the EU and its Member States, and the ‘identity’ logic, which creates a move towards self-realisation and ‘self-recognition’ on the part of the EU in international politics, and relates this to recent developments in European foreign and security policy. The paper then argues that the multi-dimensional ‘triangle of forces’ between European integration, the Islamic world and the United States has played a key role in focusing these developments, by posing challenges to the three logics and creating complex linkages between them. The Conclusion asks whether as a result EU foreign policy has been ‘catalysed’ (given new impetus and direction) or ‘constrained’ (subject to a process of external or self-limitation), and points to some early indications of the impact of the Obama Administration in the United States.

Формирование американской внешнеполитической концепции в отношении Польши накануне и в первые годы «холодной войны»

The article analyses the mechanisms of the development of American foreign policy towards Central and Eastern Europe on the example of Poland. The author considers a number of factors that influenced the process of the foreign policy development.

One Piece of the Puzzle: Individual Leadership and EU Foreign Policy Development

The Search for a Common European Foreign and Security Policy: Leaders, Cognitions, and Questions of Institutional Viability. Edited by Akan Malici. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. 219 pp, $79.95 hardcover (ISBN: 978-0230604469). The slow evolution of a Common Foreign & Security Policy (CFSP) is often attributed to diverging national interests and identities, the transatlantic divide or the EU's emphasis on civil power. For all those who are in search of alternative explanations for the gradual evolution of the EU's CFSP beyond statist or institutionalist approaches, Akan Malici's book delivers a complementary theory stressing the cognitive strategic propensities of individual leaders. It seeks to overcome some of the perceived shortcomings of traditional comparative European Foreign Policy Analysis by incorporating insights from political psychology, which could explain the “black box” of individual decision-making, and challenges conventional invariant models of state behavior (p. 20). In the introduction, the author introduces the reader to the idea of political leadership in the context of European security integration, provides an intergovernmental account of the evolution of CFSP, and lays out the structure of his book. Chapter 2 presents his “cognitive theory of institutional viability,” which is based on the fundamental understanding that “institutions are human constructions” (p. 17) and that intergovernmental institutions, as in the case of the CFSP, are subject to governmental leadership-agency rather than the established institutional structure, thus reflecting a larger trend in institutional research. Malici then proposes his concept of decision-making bodies as “shared mental models” (p. 18), predicated upon previous work by political psychologists who advocate the existence …

Scripting the nation: sport, mega-events, foreign policy and state-building in post-apartheid South Africa1

Arising from the growing commercial and broader importance of sport, politics around the hosting and bidding for major sport events have become key elements of state engagements in the contemporary era. This essay explores the role of sport mega-events in the processes of foreign policy-making and state-building in post-apartheid South Africa. A key argument is that such events have become an important instrument in the development of foreign policy and domestic goals for the country. Two particular strategies are evident: that of dualling, referring to the twofold use of events toward the achievement of national and international objectives; and that of linking internal and external policy targets, as a means of raising the effectiveness with which goals are pursued. As the country prepares to host the prestigious FIFA world football finals in 2010, some lessons may be taken for the foreseen and undesired corollaries such strategies may pose for the country.

Italy and the Balkans: The rise of a reluctant middle power

Since the early 1990s Italy has been engaged in promoting peace and stability in the Balkans with a growing amount of political, economic and military resources. At the beginning of the process of Yugoslav dissolution, the Italian polity was torn apart by a set of political and financial scandals that prevented the development of an assertive foreign policy. Over time, however, Italy was able to play a more relevant and constructive role. This article traces Italy's policy towards the Balkans from its modest beginnings to the present day, focusing on four key political/economic events: the war in Bosnia, the Telekom Serbia affair, the war in Kosovo and the support given to the nascent Albanian democracy. Generally speaking, Italy has provided a positive, although modest, contribution to bringing peace and stability to the region.

Framing Security and Development in the EU Pillar Structure. How the Views of the European Commission Affect EU Africa Policy

The increasing integration of development and security policies in European foreign policy raises problems of coordination between the pillars of the EU. Literature on EU external relations stresses the lack of definition of the competences of the Council and the European Commission in the cross‐pillar space, but the way the Commission and the Council relate to each other in EU security and development policies is under‐explored. This article, focusing on EU Africa policy, argues that the lack of clear decision‐making procedures for peace‐building issues makes framing a crucial instrument in affecting the policy process. The Commission, by framing security as a first pillar issue, proves able to establish three types of relationship with the Council: pushing the Council to take specific actions, replacing the Council and even triggering conflicts of competence with the Council.

Searching for the North in North American Foreign Policies: Canada and the United States

Canada needs to bring a comprehensive northern dimension to its foreign policy. To be effective, the new policy must be an integral part of Canada's broader foreign policy, and must be reinforced by domestic policies. The Northern Dimension of Canada's Foreign Policy (2000) A northern foreign policy? We don't do north in our foreign policy-- unless you're talking about relations with the polar bears, walrus or caribou. Unattributed foreign policy advisor to President George W. Bush For many observers of Canadian-American affairs it was a bit of a surprise to find that the first problem to emerge in the bilateral relationship following the election of the new Harper government was related to the North. Rather than being a trade issue linked to softwood lumber or a border security concern tied to differing national immigration regulations, it was the question of Arctic sovereignty that was to disrupt briefly the promise of renewed positive relations between the two countries. In late January of 2006, the American ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins, appeared to raise questions in a speech to a Canadian audience about Ottawa's need to exert complete control over its northern lands and waters. The newly-elected Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, was forced to make a quick response, offering the opinion that Arctic sovereignty was indeed an important concern for Canadians and that it would be a foreign policy priority for his new government. He further indicated that the American ambassador might wish to refrain from making further comments on the matter (Galloway 2006). What puzzled many observers on both sides of the border concerning this brief, heated exchange was why either Canadian or American interests in the Arctic should be given such attention. Neither country had made the North an issue of prominent concern in their mutual relations for several years. Nor had either country appeared to devote much attention to the North in its overall foreign policy behavior. The idea that Canada and the United States might have different and contending approaches to their international relations in the North was a new idea to many. For those who had been carefully following the development of Canadian and American foreign policies in the North over the past several decades, however, such a sudden diplomatic outburst was not totally unexpected. The two countries did, in fact, have somewhat different visions of their roles in the North and their contributions to current circumpolar diplomacy. While there had been a good deal of common cause between Ottawa and Washington in their dealings in the North prior to the end of the Cold War, the two countries had begun to diverge in their attitudes and approaches to the region since the decline of that international system. It. might be important, some suggested, that these differences be detailed. The Nature of the Inquiry This essay discusses the problems that both Canada and the United States have faced over the past several decades in envisioning and articulating a northern dimension to their respective foreign policies. As noted above, both countries have suffered from a certain reluctance to consider the North as an important component of their foreign relations and have only belatedly begun to look at themselves as circumpolar states. Nonetheless, northern issues and concerns have become increasingly visible features of both Canada's and the United States' dealings with other members of the global community and in their relations with one another. The essay begins by providing a historical overview of the United States' and Canada's interests in the North over the past century It considers the political, economic, social, and strategic concerns that have driven each country to become involved in the region. Here, attention is focused on the evolution of their interests from exploration and establishment of sovereignty in the North to economic exploitation, strategic defense, and ultimately international cooperation. …

Soft Borders and Cooperative Frontiers: India's Changing Territorial Diplomacy Towards Pakistan and China

For decades, the dominant sense in the foreign policy establishment of India was that neither the Kashmir question nor the boundary dispute with China was ripe for resolution. Yet, in defiance of this received wisdom, two very different political coalitions have opened and sustained substantive negotiations on Jammu and Kashmir and the boundary dispute with China. Forward movement in both negotiations has also been premised on opening the closed frontiers with China and Pakistan. This development in India's foreign and national security policy is consequential since the resolution of either of these disputes or both could alter the territorial map of India. If the new arrangements work, they would also significantly alter the nature of India's frontiers with two of its long-standing rivals, Pakistan and China. In the strategic realm, success on either front has the potential to transform India's security condition.

Organising for Nation Building

As countries and international institutions become increasingly involved in nation-building efforts, committing personnel and resources for prolonged periods of time, they often face major capabili...

The Life and Times of Andrei Zhdanov, 1896-1948 (review)

Reviewed by: The Life and Times of Andrei Zhdanov, 1896–1948 Robert E. Johnson (bio) Kees Boterbloem. The Life and Times of Andrei Zhdanov, 1896–1948 McGill-Queen’s University Press 2004. xxiv, 600. $55.00 As the archives of the early Soviet era grow more accessible, Andrei Zhdanov, a member of Josef Stalin's inner circle from the early 1930s to his premature death in 1948, becomes a prime candidate for close study. He shares with just one other Stalinist leader (Nikolai Ezhov) the dubious distinction of having the Russian suffix 'shchina' attached to his name. In popular speech this is a pejorative device, used to describe the bad times associated with a prominent person's leadership or policies, as in 'Pugachevshchina' – the bloody Cossack/peasant uprising of the 1770s led by Emilian Pugachev. The 'Zhdanovshchina' was a notorious campaign of the late 1940s that imposed strict conformity on the arts and promoted xenophobic Russian patriotism. Its targets, whom Zhdanov described as 'rootless cosmopolitans,' included such prominent figures as poet Anna Akhmatova and composer Sergei Prokofiev. Zhdanov himself, however, came to prominence much earlier, and played many other roles within the Soviet leadership. Using a wide range of published and archival sources, Kees Boterbloem tries to trace his protagonist's contributions to the industrialization drive of the First Five Plan, the Great Terror of 1937–38, foreign relations, and the defence of Leningrad during the Second World War. [End Page 556] At first glance Zhdanov seems an unlikely candidate for leadership. His middle-class background resembled that of the 'Old Bolsheviks' – most of whom were purged in the 1930s – more than most of his peers. He had an undistinguished record during the years of revolution and civil war, but rose quickly through the ranks of the Communist party, first in the city of Tver' and then in Nizhnii Novgorod, a more important industrial centre. He proved adept at upholding the (constantly shifting) Party line on such matters as industrialization and agriculture and denouncing its critics. By 1925 he was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist party, and in 1929 he had his first solo audience with Stalin. Early in 1934 he was elevated to Moscow, and in December he succeeded the assassinated Sergei Kirov as head of the Leningrad Party organization. From this point onward Zhdanov took part in almost every major development in domestic and foreign policy. He co-signed decrees, served on numerous drafting commissions, helped to orchestrate the monstrous purges of 1937–38, and delivered countless formulaic speeches setting forth Stalinist policies. Unfortunately the surviving records make it almost impossible to determine what his own specific contributions to any of these may have been. Even the Zhdanovshchina itself may have been the work of others. Other scholars (W. Hahn) have surmised that Zhdanov tried to cushion the impact of the campaign that bears his name. Kees Boterbloem rejects this hypothesis, but the evidence for and against remains sketchy. A fuller (and bolder) exposition would have been welcome. Similarly, he could have attempted a more conclusive account of bureaucratic cronyism and patronage – the 'families' of Stalin's entourage and the rivalries between them. The qualities that made Zhdanov a survivor – obsequious subservience and chameleon-like adaptability – would likely not have served him well as an independent leader. At certain points he appeared to be Stalin's chosen heir. But the Leader, especially in the last decades of his life, was constantly shifting favour among his associates, slapping down any who seemed to be showing ambition or independence. Zhdanov died of heart failure in 1948 at age fifty-two, at a moment when his political fortune seemed to be waning. Despite the book's weighty documentation, Boterbloem's Zhdanov remains a two-dimensional figure. The author can track the number and duration of Zhdanov's meetings with Stalin or other leaders, but usually has no record of what was said. At various points he resorts to something resembling old-fashioned Kremlinology, studying the order of signatures on a decree or of speeches at a Party conference to trace Zhdanov's fluctuating fortunes. The book's greatest strength is its documentary base, but its numerous lists...

Health impact assessment, human rights and global public policy: a critical appraisal

Public policy decisions in both the social and economic spheres have enormous impact on global public health. As a result of this, and of the skewed global distribution of power and resources, health impact assessment (HIA) potentially has a key role to play in foreign policy-making and global public policy-making. Governments, multilateral bodies and transnational corporations need to be held to account for the health impacts of their policies and practices. One route towards achieving this objective involves the inclusion of human rights assessments within HIA. International commitments to human rights instruments and standards can be used as a global auditing tool. Methodological issues may limit the effectiveness of HIA in promoting health equity. These issues include the use of procedures that favour those holding power in the policy process or the use of procedures that fail to apply values of equity and participation. The identification and production of evidence that includes the interests of less powerful groups is a priority for HIA and would be furthered if a human rights-based method of HIA were developed. Because HIA considers all types of policies and examines all potential determinants of health, it can play a part when foreign policy is developed and global decisions are made to treat people as rights holders. Since the human right to health is shaped by the determinants of health, developing links between the right to health assessment (that is, an assessment of the impact of policies on the right to health) and HIA--as recently proposed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health--could strengthen the development of foreign policy and global decisions. Such links should be pursued and applied to the development of foreign policy and to the operation of multilateral bodies.