Foreign Policy Approach Research Articles

The Triumph of Conservative Globalism: The Political Economy of the AKP Era

The Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP), following its third successive electoral victory appears to be far more entrenched than its earlier center-right counterparts in Turkish politics. This article highlights the key political economy fundamentals that have rendered the AKP experience unique within the Turkish context. Accordingly, strong economic performance in context of “regulatory neo-liberalism” helped by a favorable global liquidity environment in the early parts of the decade was a key contributor to the party's continued electoral success. The party also made effective use of a variety of formal and informal redistributive mechanisms, which is referred as “controlled neo-populism” in this article, to enlarge its electoral coalition. Furthermore, the fact that Turkey did not suffer a typical old-style economic crisis in the context of the global turmoil of 2008–2009 was important for the AKP's electoral fortunes. Concomitantly, the AKP government was quite effective in managing the global financial crisis politically and it took advantage of its assertive “new” foreign policy approach. Finally, this study argues that the AKP also benefited from the fragmented opposition.

Dead on arrival: normative EU policy towards China

The European Union’s (EU) normative roles in global politics have in recent years been a hotly debated topic. The EU promotes its political values outside of the Union, especially with regard to prospective accession countries and small developing countries. However, a normative foreign policy approach encounters considerable challenges when confronted with major powers, such as China and Russia that do not share the political values promoted by the EU. Attempts at pursuing a normative policy towards these countries often come across as halfhearted. This article discusses EU normative policy towards China. It identifies loss of the moral high ground, conflicting positions of EU members and lack of leverage as the three main factors hampering it. It needs to be recognised that these problems are fundamental and stem from the very nature of the EU itself. The article argues that instead of a halfhearted offensive normative approach towards China or ubiquitous dialogues with partners, the EU may be better off with a more determined policy of defensive normativity. This would entail being more insistent in upholding European values within our own community rather than seeking to export them outside of the Union, and favouring demand-driven cooperation. The choice stands between altering the self-image of the EU to make it better correspond to reality, or making reality live up to the self-image.

Russian foreign policy in the making: The linkage between internal dynamics and the external context

Russian foreign policy is both an expression of Moscow's internal political dealings around the presidential administration and the bureaucracies that support it, with their focus on the shaping and making of foreign policy, as well as its implementation, which is grounded in Russia's stated goal of its reassertion in the international system as a major power. This is a process that is embedded in continuous interaction between different levels of agency and the construction of understandings and perceptions, both at the domestic and the international level. Looking at foreign policy as a process, the article argues that the study of foreign policy should go beyond strictly positivist assumptions, as relations between the different actors and the foreign policy approaches that these suggest are embedded in structural, material and ideational dimensions. Departing from this conceptual frame, the article looks at Russian foreign policy, seeking to understand how the internal/external linkages take place in the process of policy construction, looking in particular at socialisation processes and normative adaptation.

The Russo-Georgian war and beyond: towards a European great power concert

The brief war between Georgia and Russia in August 2008 provoked vigorous international reactions among the European states as consequence of the sudden shift in the strategic balance. This article argues for a focus on the great powers France, Germany and Britain as crucial actors for understanding the policy reactions towards Russia. It argues furthermore that reactions must be explained from the perspective of experience based on past geopolitics which translate the external pressures into concrete foreign policy: France oriented towards the creation of a strong EU as global actor, Germany influenced by her self-imposed restraint in foreign affairs and Britain influenced by Atlanticist commitments in her balancing behaviour. Beyond the Russo-Georgian war, the article points to an interest-based foreign policy approach towards Russia in the longer term driven by a great power concert with the Franco-German axis as stable element but increasingly with backing from Britain, thus contributing to transatlantic foreign policy convergence on the issue.

The Triumph of Conservative Globalism: The Political Economy of the AKP Era

The AKP, following its third successive electoral victory appears to be far more entrenched than its earlier center-right counterparts in Turkish politics. This article highlights key political economy fundamentals that have rendered the AKP experience unique in the Turkish context. Accordingly, strong economic performance in the context of “regulatory neo-liberalism” helped by a favorable global liquidity environment in the early parts of the decade was a key contributor to the party’s continued electoral success. The party also made effective use of a variety of formal and informal redistributive mechanisms, which I call “controlled neo-populism”, to enlarge its electoral coalition. Furthermore, the fact that Turkey did not suffer a typical old-style economic crisis in the context of the global turmoil of 2008-2009 was important for the AKP’s electoral fortunes. Concomitantly, the AKP government was quite effective in managing the global financial crisis politically and it took advantage of its assertive “new” foreign policy approach. Finally, this study argues that the AKP also benefited from the fragmented opposition.

Statism in Russia: The Implications for US–Russian Relations

This essay seeks to identify and assess the general shift in Russian foreign policy thinking during Vladimir Putin's presidency. The main thesis of this essay is that a general shift in Russian foreign policy had occurred during Putin's presidency owing to the rise in Statist thinking. To substantiate the thesis, the author uses the State of the Nation addresses of Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin to make a comparative analysis of the presidents’ foreign policy approaches. As demonstrated in the essay, the Russian foreign policy had experienced a dramatic influx of state power during Vladimir Putin's presidency, which resulted in the relative quantitative and qualitative reduction of cooperative initiatives between the United States and Russia.

“Rediscovery”, “Reinvigoration” and “Redefinition” in Perpetuity: Australian Engagement with India 1983–2011

For the past twenty‐five years Australia's bilateral relationship with India has been typified by an ongoing process of “rediscovery”, irrespective of whether Labor or Liberal administrations have steered foreign policy. This article explores the reasons why this might be the case by analysing Australia's foreign policy approaches to India spanning the period 1983 to 2011. It interrogates various Labor and Liberal strategies that have been mobilised to “reinvigorate” the relationship and searches for reasons why they have only been partially successful in strengthening Australia's rapport with India. The authors draw upon discussions with strategic affairs editors of India's major daily newspapers and current affairs journals to gain insights into Indian impressions of Australia from a political and foreign policy perspective.

Afterword

This afterword summarises our main findings and discusses their political and scholarly implications. We find that Merkel's leadership style and foreign policy approach were consensual during her first term in office; moreover, she did not overtly address women's issues – although her coalition did promulgate legislation which improved conditions for some German women. Our argument here is not that the Chancellor adopted this leadership style and these policy positions because she is a woman per se, but because she is a woman with a particular background. We show the utility of studying national leaders individually in order to determine how their gender roles have been defined, and how such roles intersect with social characteristics. This method can be fruitfully applied in other cases as well. As such research proliferates, the field will be able to draw more generalisable conclusions about the intersection of gender, social characteristics, and executive leadership.

The Effect of US Foreign Policy on the Relationship Between South and North Korea: Time Series Analysis of the Post-Cold War Era

In this study, I examine the effect of US foreign policy on the relationship between South Korea and North Korea. In particular, I analyze whether two different foreign policy approaches—the hard-line approach and the soft-line approach—have played a role in advancing or slowing steps toward peace in the Korean peninsula. I use the Integrated Data for Events Analysis dataset for the period 1990–2004. By employing a Vector Autoregression model, which analyzes the behavioral patterns of South and North Korea and the United States, I find that US foreign policy affects the relationship between the two Koreas by affecting North Korea's behavior toward South Korea. The triangular relationship among the United States, North Korea, and South Korea shows a reciprocal behavior pattern. This finding suggests that a soft-line and reciprocal US foreign policy toward North Korea is critical to maintaining peace in the Korean peninsula.

Jordan and the United States: the political economy of trade and economic reform in the Middle East

Relations between the United States and the Middle East are going through a period of significant change in which the use of force in pursuit of national interests has proved to be increasingly counter-productive. A new policy direction has been adopted which seeks to promote economic integration, development and cooperation. The recent proliferation of US-Middle East free trade agreements is a corner-stone of this new foreign policy approach. Imad El-Anis here offers an analysis of how free trade and economic integration can impact US-Middle East relations by using the Jordan-US relationship as an example. This book is essential reading for those wishing to understand the new direction of US foreign economic policy towards the Middle East and the accompanying reforms taking shape in the Arab world.

THE CHANGING NATURE OF TURKISH-SYRIAN RELATIONS: A GLOBALIZATION PERSPECTIVE

This paper examines globalization’s effects on the change in Turkish foreign policy towards Syria in a comparative perspective. Through the 1990s Turkish foreign policy towards Syria was shaped by realist parameters as Turkey relied on an alliance with Israel, and hard power seeking deterrence and coercion. However after Syria submitted to Turkey’s demands and signed a counter-terrorism accord in 1998, the two states engaged in a certain rapprochement process. Most notably, following the Iraq war that promoted common threat perceptions, Turkey put a new face into practice in its foreign policy. In the 2000s, besides its growing military capabilities, Ankara also drew on soft power in its new approach to Syria and introduced many new opportunities for its neighbor through the bilateral cooperation. That carried Turkey’s relationship with Syria to unprecedented levels of collaboration in the political, economic and social realms. As elaborated in the study, the changes in Turkey’s new approach towards Syria resonate with some significant theoretical perspectives in the literature on globalization and foreign policy change. In this respect, Turkey’s new foreign policy approach is suggested as a late response to globalization’s challenge to traditional foreign policy formation as the regional security dynamics in the 1990s impeded a rapprochement. Along with the changes in Turkish foreign policy towards Syria in the first decade of the 2000s, the regional implications of Ankara’s new approach are also discussed. Lastly, the limits of Turkey’s new foreign policy approach are examined touching upon the developments in Syria since the “Arab Spring.”

Statism in Russia: The Implications for US-Russian Relations

This article seeks to identify and assess the general shift in Russian foreign policy thinking during Vladimir Putin's presidency. The main thesis of this article is that a general shift in Russian foreign policy had occurred during Putin's presidency owing to the rise in Statist thinking. To substantiate the thesis, the author uses the State of the Nation addresses of Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin to make a comparative analysis of the presidents' foreign policy approaches. As will be demonstrated in the article, the Russian foreign policy had experienced a dramatic influence of state power during Vladimir Putin's presidency, which resulted in the relative quantitative and qualitative reduction of cooperative initiatives between the United States and Russia.

UZBEKISTAN’S FOREIGN POLICY UNDER MIRZIYOYEV: CHANGE OR CONTINUITY?

After Mirziyoyev came to power in December 2016, impressive developments have taken place in Uzbekistan’s relations with the Central Asian republics, regional and external powers, and international institutions. These developments have led some to concur that Uzbekistan is going through remarkable or milestone/drastic changes in its foreign policy. The objective of this paper is to analyze Uzbekistan’s foreign policy under Mirziyoyev, in comparison with that of his predecessor, and to reveal whether there have been changes or continuities in Uzbekistan’s foreign policy under his administration. The study puts forth that Uzbekistan under Mirziyoyev has continued to maintain its military neutrality and prioritize Central Asia in its foreign policy. This demonstrates that Karimov’s core foreign policy strategy has been maintained under Mirziyoyev. The only difference has been his country’s constructive foreign policy approach to its relations with the regional and external actors.

Solidarity, Counter-Hegemony, and Development: Exploring New Dimensions of Cuba's Sport-Based Internationalism

Cuban internationalism has been recognized as a unique foreign policy approach that merges “soft power” with comprehensive development. While much has been written about the country's programs of cooperation, outreach, and solidarity, notably within the health sector, little has been mentioned to date about the extensive cooperation Cuba seeks with other nations in the global South through sport and physical education. This is a significant gap given the recent attention paid to sport within international development. In this article we explore Cuba's sport-based internationalism by illustrating how EI Instituto Nacional de Deportes, Educación Física y Recreación (INDER) employs hundreds of Cuban personnel to engage in sport programs in three unique streams. First, Cuban sport professionals work alongside other Cuban health and social workers in marginalized communities throughout the global South; second, INDER trains hundreds of students from other parts of the global South as coaches and physical trainers; and third, elite Cuban athletes fulfill for-profit coaching contracts with elite sport teams in the global North. We argue that Cuba's international sport programs are representative of a commitment to sport that is grounded in national discourses of both universal participation and international solidarity; as such, Cuban sport policy should be further recognized as a notable process within the burgeoning Sport for Development and Peace sector.

Sforza in America: the dilemmas of exile politics, 1940–43

The American years (1940–43) were probably the most important in the long exile experience of Carlo Sforza. Acting skillfully, Sforza managed to build a base of support and trust among American officials that enabled him in achieving many of his goals for Italy and for his own future. He became a critical player in the creation of a postwar US–Italian alliance. The price he paid was abandoning the idea of leading an Italian government in exile. However, this avenue was, in any case, closed off by the realities of American domestic politics, the sharp divisions between his Italian and Italian-American allies and, ultimately, the foreign policy approach of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In the shadow of Marco Polo: writing about China in fascist Italy

This paper explores the writings on contemporary China in the 1920s and 1930s of Italian scholars, journalists and travellers. The turning point in Italian interest in Chinese events was represented by Italy's participation in the Boxer Rebellion, narrated in Italy by Luigi Barzini. As of the late 1920s, attention was refocused on China, propelled by interest in Chinese nationalism and its state-building process and the new Fascist foreign policy approach to Asia. Books by fascist journalists and propagandists as well as essays written by several scholars and diplomats and published under the auspices of government scientific institutions all testify to the double effort to understand Chinese politics and culture on new terms and to imagine a more important role for Italy in China as a result of her alleged special historical relationship with the ‘Orient’. However, this effort to promote a better knowledge of China was subordinated to contingent interests and choices and reflected the inconsistency of Fascist Italy's policy towards Asia. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the complex interplay of political and cultural factors behind the writings concerned with Italian and Chinese relations during those decades.

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.

Foreign Policy Instruments and Factors for Policy Change: Japan’s Security ‘Normalisation’ Reconsidered

AbstractThis article addresses the question of Japan’s security ‘normalisation’ by examining from realist and liberal perspectives the foreign policy tools Japan has used to redefine its engagement with the outside world in the post-Cold War period. It also analyses the international and domestic factors, which have underpinned that redefinition. The article argues that while Japan is more willing to consider seemingly realist foreign policy instruments, namely by strengthening its defence posture and alliance with the U.S., Japan’s so-called ‘normalisation’ does not represent a strategic policy shift towards realism. Rather, it should be seen as a mature response to the changed regional security environment in East Asia, as well as a ‘product’ of particular domestic political dynamics in Japan, especially the emergence of conservative Koizumi-like politicians. Japan’s main foreign policy approach — most recently represented by Fukuda’s diplomacy — remains largely a liberal one and stresses the promotion of multilateralism, peaceful cooperation and economic diplomacy.

The Unravelling of the Cold War Settlement

Twenty years ago, as the Cold War was being ushered to a close, American and Russian leaders crafted a settlement with principles and arrangements intended to constitute a great-power peace as well as to extend the liberal international order. Today, the promise these arrangements once held now seems distant. For both sides, relations are now marked by a sense of grievance, disappointment and dashed expectations. The new administration of President Barack Obama sees the repair of the relationship with Russia as a major foreign-policy objective, and is ambitiously attempting to reset it and place it on a more positive footing. Already this new policy has provoked a chorus of condemnation that the United States is appeasing Russia and sacrificing both its national interests and the interests of democratic allies in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet region. In reality, the Obama policy is a move toward recovering some of America's most successful foreign-policy approaches that reached a zenith at the end of the Cold War under the later Reagan administration and the George H.W. Bush administration.

Developing a Global Health Diplomacy Supply Chain—A Viable Option for the United States to Curb Extremism

This study examines the idea of developing a global health diplomacy supply chain as an important foreign policy approach with the aim of improving the lives of vulnerable populations and serving the best interests of the United States. The study was based on the review of academic literature, news events, and military communiqués, and historical writings were studied to determine the feasibility of the idea and the extent of costs and benefits of such an endeavor. An integrated strategic business model, supported by a medical care delivery process, was developed to create a framework for a feasible global health diplomacy supply chain. The findings indicate that extremism can be contained by creating and efficiently executing an effective supply chain to get medical care units to those that need them. The limitations are the potential exit strategies required, the tactical abilities, and diplomatic techniques needed in order to create positive diplomatic change in aid distribution. Managers must consider how supply chains will affect other organizations giving aid and the potential public response. Moreover, determining the level of care necessary to achieve the greatest positive health diplomacy continues to require vigilant scrutiny over the potential cost/benefit analysis. The analysis is valuable to policymakers considering the impacts of health diplomacy by utilizing supply chain management.