Foreign Policy Change Research Articles

The Foreign Policy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela: The Role and Legacy of Hugo Chávez

From the 1998 election of Hugo Chávez Frías as president until his death in March 2013, Venezuela went through significant changes. The launch of a political project geared toward the establishment of “socialism for the twenty‐first century,” underwritten by the abundant oil revenues since 2002, meant an unprecedented transformation in Venezuela. There was also a radical change in the country's foreign policy in the transition from the pre‐Chavez Venezuela to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. This article analyzes part of the political legacy left by Hugo Chávez, the new objectives and values, new strategic orientations and priorities, and the transformation of the institutions charged with carrying out this foreign policy. It focuses on the Ministry of the Popular Power (Poder Popular) for External Relations of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and the creation of a set of intergovernmental organizations at the regional and international levels, particularly the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, that support the promotion of international solidarity with the revolutionary process led by President Chávez. While the main aspects of Hugo Chavez's approach to politics and foreign policy continue to be enforced today, serious economic and social deterioration linked to the decline in international oil prices has led to major challenges to Venezuelan regional leadership in recent years, reflected in recent changes to its foreign policy.

Modi Government and Changing Patterns in Indian Foreign Policy

This article examines continuity and change in Indian foreign policy since Narendra Modi took office. It proceeds with analyzing six issues that dominated India’s foreign engagement between the prime ministerial regimes of Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh as a reference point. To evaluate the level of change, it defines major change as a major shift in the goals and strategies of a state’s foreign policy and argues that most often a major change in foreign policy is a result of changes in the systemic variables followed by a change in either state- or individual-level variables. Indian foreign policy under Modi is witnessing a proactive turn infused by a strong leadership. The new government has redefined India’s foreign policy priorities, and the level of external engagement has also gone up. However, areas like democracy promotion have not upheld their momentum, and the government’s regional policy has failed to utilize the opportunities that were available to it when it began its tenure. Also, foreign policy changes under the new government cannot be regarded as a major change because the goals and strategies of Indian foreign policy have not changed.

Distributing dollars for democracy: changing foreign policy contexts and the shifting determinants of US democracy aid, 1975–2010

In the late 20th century, the United States adapted to changes in the international arena and initiated innovative strategies of democracy promotion by providing assistance to governments, political parties, and non-governmental organisations all over the world. Through the lens of foreign policy change, this analysis examines the factors shaping US democracy aid decisions in the context of two major paradigm shifts—the end of the Cold War (1989) and the 9/11 episode (2001)—which establish three distinct US foreign policy contexts: Cold War, post-Cold War, and Global War on Terror. Examining democracy aid allocations; ideational goals; US interests; and economic, political and social factors, we argue that the external foreign policy context of each time period generates a different blend of determinants that shape democracy aid allocations, with ideational factors more consequential in the post-Cold War and Global War on Terror contexts, and interest-based factors more significant in the Cold War and Global War on Terror contexts. Evidence from the period between 1975 and 2010 provides support for our argument. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings.

International student accommodation and changing foreign policy alignments in 1950s Australia

Australia’s popularity as a study destination increased markedly from the 1940s, with growing demand for tertiary education in postcolonial Asia. The advent of scholarship initiatives, including the Colombo Plan’s Technical Cooperation Scheme in 1951, further increased interest in Australia as an educational provider for both sponsored and privately funded students. This article explores the print media’s commentary on international student accommodation shortages in the 1950s. While Australian housing availability was impacted by wartime cessation of construction and postwar immigration, print media coverage generally attributed international student accommodation shortages to discrimination within the rental market. Overwhelmingly, this alleged discriminatory treatment was condemned within the print media, with the dual rationale of moral and diplomatic objections prominent in newspaper discourse. This media censure is examined within the context of shifting foreign policy alignments, growing national and international condemnation of the so-called ‘White Australia policy’, and the broader political agenda of Australian Colombo Plan involvement.

Institutional Factors Affecting the North Caucasus Region in Connection to its Russian Identification

The paper is devoted to the general problems of development of the North Caucasus region and various aspects of its investigation. This theme was not easy for scientists and analysts at all times, and it cannot be understood in a one-dimensional measurement. In general the Caucasus has provided and continues to exert considerable influence on the formation and development of the Russian identity and this is both theoretical and practical importance for us. Therefore much attention is paid to the present situation in Russian society, its ability to meet the challenges of the times in a rapidly changing world and changes in domestic and foreign policy on its southern borders. The paper presents different approaches to analysis and different comments on them. But all Russian researchers are united in one thing - in the understanding and preservation of this unique region as an integral part of the Russian state and Russian identity.

Karzai's foreign policy analysis from the perspective of the Linkage theory

Hamid Karzai during the interim, transitional and elective government (two courses) from 2002 to 2014, was the Afghanistan president that, in terms of increasing communication channels across the region and the world, provided widespread assistance to the international community and the development of a unique democratic era behind. Afghanistan's changing foreign policy during Karzai's time has made foreign policy management and decision-making more important than ever, and from this perspective the question of the research has been formed; what is the influential component of foreign policy decisions during the reign of Hamid Karzai? the model of James N. Rosenau's Linkage model was chosen to analyze Karzai's foreign policy in order to answer this question.According to this model, in countries such as Afghanistan, which are politically open and economically developing, respectively the individual components, international system, role variable, society and government have the most influence in foreign policy decisions of the country. Using this model, the research findings showed that during the study period, although the individual component and the international system had the most impact on foreign policy decisions in the country, but contrary to the Rosenau's Linkage model, Afghanistan's foreign policy analysis in other cases with the model And the component of the role and society is lower than the role of government in foreign policy decision-making. Research findings are an appropriate response to the failure to take advantage of opportunities and control threats in foreign policy of the country

The Duterte Administration’s appeasement policy on China and the crisis in the Philippine–US alliance

This article examines the shifts in Philippine foreign policy under the Duterte Administration, and how these changes impact 21st century Philippine–US alliance. Unlike the Aquino Administration that challenged China’s expansionism in the South China Sea, the Duterte Administration keeps silent on this maritime dispute in exchange for Chinese trade concessions, aid, and investments. President Duterte fosters closer economic and diplomatic relations with China and distances the Philippines from the US Specifically, he seeks China’s assistance for the building of drug-rehabilitation centers for Filipino drug dependents, soft loans for the construction of railways in Mindanao, and even the acquisition of Chinese-made weapons for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). In consideration of this largess, President Duterte has degraded the country’s strategic security ties with the US by terminating the joint Philippine–US naval patrols in the South China Sea, and limiting the scope and number of US military interactions with the AFP. These moves, which are a dramatic departure from the Philippines’ long-standing policy of maintaining close security ties with the US, have strained the Philippine–US alliance. This article addresses this central question: How do the foreign policy changes under the Duterte Administration adversely impact the Philippine–US alliance? It also raises the following questions: (1) What are the foreign policy goals of the Duterte Administration? (2) How does the Duterte Administration pursue these goals? (3) In what ways does the pursuit of these goals affect Philippine–US alliance? (4) What is the future of Philippine–US alliance in the light of the Duterte Administration’s shifting foreign policy goals?

전쟁과 사절 — 屯門海戰과 明朝의 대외정책변화 —

전쟁과 사절 — 屯門海戰과 明朝의 대외정책변화 —

A look inside an emerging nuclear supplier. Advocacy coalitions and change in Argentine foreign nuclear policy

What light can foreign policy analysis (FPA) shed on how and when the balance of power between domestic coalitions in foreign nuclear policymaking changes and how these different balances directly affect policy outcomes? Drawing on interviews with scientists, technologists and career diplomats, this comprehensive examination of Argentine nuclear exports policy as public policy aims to depict when and how policies varied between 1976 and 2004, due to shifts in the balance amongst advocacy coalitions, albeit of incentives and constraints placed by international and institutional nuclear environments. The article provides a better account of how Argentine nuclear foreign policy changed under the influence of four competitive and contrasting advocacy coalitions: the pro-import substitution and protectionist coalition, the pro-technological autonomy and South-South trade coalition, the pro-business and commercial openness coalition and the antinuclear and pro-environment coalition.

Hungarian-Russian bilingual schools in Hungary during the Soviet occupation (1945–1989)

Through the example of the establishment, functioning, and closing of bilingual schools during the Soviet occupation of Hungary, this paper aims to introduce this segment of public education in Central-Eastern Europe. In the period between 1945 and 1989, the learning of Russian as a compulsory subject was introduced, teaching other languages was restricted, and Hungarian-Russian bilingual schools were launched. The features of their establishment can be connected to political and professional power relations in different sub-periods within the structures of closed language policy. The objective in both states was the education of committed political elite. The first school was established by direct political control and closed because of the 1956 revolution. The second school was established in 1974, through professional and political compromises. The third school opened at the end of the period, as part of a top-down development project involving 14 schools. A number of European target languages (still including Russian) were introduced, which can be regarded as the opening up of language education policy. Relying on sources, documents, and personal recollections, the study aims to reveal the dynamics of the interrelations between controlled language education, University and the changes in Hungarian economic, social, domestic, and foreign policy in the given periods.

Choices: inside the making of India's foreign policy

The collapse of the Soviet Union and India's economic crisis in 1991 led to the opening up of the Indian economy and subsequent changes in India's foreign policy. In Choices, well-known Indian diplomat Shivshankar Menon, who held key positions in the Indian government, including foreign secretary and national security adviser, analyses five key decisions in India's post-Cold War foreign policy. These choices are the decision to sign the 1993 Border Peace and Tranquillity Agreement with China and the Civil Nuclear Treaty with the United States; not using force against Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai attack; India's response to the Sri Lankan civil war; and eschewing a first use policy on nuclear weapons. Thus the book is not a diplomatic memoir, as readers might expect, but a keen analysis of Indian foreign policy-making. Chapters are divided in two, where the first part deals with policy choices within a particular crisis setting and the second expands on India's current and future policy options. In the first chapter, Menon discusses India's decision to sign the 1993 Border Peace and Tranquillity Agreement with China. For the author, it seemed impossible to solve the boundary dispute permanently, as right-wing forces on both sides would never have allowed settlement of the dispute. The China–India agreement succeeded in keeping the peace as it opened scope for engagement. Menon has a positive outlook on India–China relations in general and argues that the 1993 agreement has been one of the best examples of cooperation (p. 28).

Foreign policy change and the International Criminal Court

This article analyzes foreign policy changes toward the International Criminal Court (ICC) of four African states between 1999 and 2014: Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa. It considers each state’s normative disposition, which measures the extent to which it legally consents to, complies with, and promotes the norms contained in the Rome Statute. Drawing on a push–pull model of foreign policy change, this article argues that normative disposition evinces a deeper, underlying dimension of state behavior that can shape foreign policy. During the period under study, elements of states’ foreign policy toward the Court changed with proximate domestic, regional, and international developments but were shaped by the normative disposition toward the Court underlying each state’s policy. The more recent (and ongoing) withdrawal of some African states from the ICC challenges aspects of this argument and will be addressed throughout.

Push and pull forces in the UNGA: analyzing foreign policy change in the context of international norms

This paper proceeds from the observation that states at times change their foreign policy preferences vis-a-vis an international norm on reoccurring resolutions in the United Nations General Assembly. In order to explain this phenomenon, we utilize a push–pull approach capturing the impact of domestic (push) and international dynamics (pull) on foreign policy change concerning repeated international norms. The theoretical expectations are empirically examined in order to shed light on the causal pathways underlying foreign policy changes. To this end, the paper combines a descriptive analysis of over 150 UNGA resolutions with more than 50 interviews with diplomats and MFA members, an analysis of official documents and an examination of WikiLeaks material. The evidence illustrates that both domestic push and international pull factors account for shifting foreign policy positions on international norms. On the push side, we find that domestic political institutions, the norm context and state agency drive position change, whereas on the pull side, the international norm environment as well as the activities of third states and groups influence vote shifts. In addition, salience of the norm also matters, as high politics norms tend toward higher voting consistency, whereas states adjust foreign policies more frequently on resolutions concerning less-politicized low politics norms.

A diplomacia do twitter no governo Temer – os primeiros apontamentos

Esse trabalho analisa o fenômeno da diplomacia digital, mais especificamente, a atuação da diplomacia brasileira no Twitter. Parte-se da hipótese de que como consequência das mudanças ocorridas na política externa a partir das novas tecnologias da informação, o Twitter se apresenta como um eficiente canal de comunicação e de disseminação de informações diplomáticas na contemporaneidade. Para verificar tal proposição, serão analisadas seis postagens do Ministério das Relações Exteriores no Twitter em repúdio às manifestações de alguns governos da América Latina contra o impeachment da Presidente da República, Dilma Rousseff.Questiona-se: como estaria a diplomacia brasileira no governo do Presidente interino, Michel Temer, compatibilizando as novas tecnologias, a disseminação instantânea de informações entre governos e a comunicação entre os cidadãos de todo o mundo?

Global norms and US foreign policy change: the governance of transnational crime

This article analyzes governmental foreign policy options targeted at global norm institutionalization. Based on domestic push and international pull factors, the article develops a framework for the analysis of different foreign policy strategies that have implications for different outcomes of global norm institutionalization. This variance is then exemplified by four case studies of US foreign policy and the fight against transnational crime—namely money laundering, corruption, human trafficking, and illicit arms trafficking. The result shows that variance in the institutionalization of global norms is caused by varying support of the norm on the national and international level.

Status and Foreign Policy Change in Small States: Qatar’s Emergence in Perspective

ABSTRACTSmall states are just as easily seduced by status and glory as other states. When conceived as situated in a stratified international society, small states acquire an inherent tendency to overcome their disadvantage in conventional power terms through the pursuit of status. Hence, it is precisely because of their position in the international hierarchy, not in spite of it, that strategic ideas based on state size stimulate foreign policy change in small states. This mechanism provides an explanation to the question why the small state of Qatar has pursued such a high-profile diplomatic strategy since its emergence in the late 1990s.

Foreign policy change and international norms: a conceptual framework

Foreign policy change (FPC) is an important topic and has therefore attracted much scholarly attention. Yet, the literature has largely overlooked how FPC is related to international norms. This special issue seeks to add value to the field of foreign policy analysis by strengthening the empirical literature linking FPC and international norms. The papers in this issue tease out the intervening factors in facilitating the relationship between foreign policy change and the international norm. The introductory article introduces the conceptual framework which draws on both the structure–agency and “push–pull” debates to provide the cohesive analytical structure for the issue.

Coalition politics, international norms, and foreign policy: multiparty decision-making dynamics in comparative perspective

This article examines how decision-making dynamics in coalition cabinets influence states’ responses to international norms and foreign policy change. International normative structures may be interpreted differently by coalition partners, which share the authority for responding to external expectations and pressures. I examine two cases of internal contestation over international norms—Japanese decision-making over the ban of imported rice in response to international norms of trade liberalization (1993) and Turkish decision-making over the ban of the death penalty in response to international norms on human rights (1999–2002). In both cases, coalition partners disagreed over policy responses to the norm and I unpack the way in which the norm became entangled in internal coalition politics. The cases are examples of (eventual) policy change, which challenges a dominant image of coalitions completely deadlocked actors. The explanations of these case outcomes further our understanding of how domestic agents and structures respond to international norms and produce changes in foreign policies.

Competing norms and foreign policy change: humanitarian intervention and British foreign policy

During the 1990s the inhibition threshold for humanitarian interventions was lowered in British foreign policy. Whereas interventions in the early 1990s were conducted or approved very reluctantly by the UK, later interventions were pursued more actively. The humanitarian intervention debate is linked to the norms of state sovereignty and human rights protection. In the case of massive human rights violations, they allow for two contrary possible options of action and collide with each other regarding the appropriate behavior. Therefore, this article takes a closer look at policymakers and their response toward this norm competition. In the observed time frame the policymaker’s response changed as the sovereignty norm gained a less prominent role. This shift was due to several factors. The governmental change of the New Labour in 1997 pushed an ethical foreign policy forward. A second factor was the development at the international level, culminating in the emergence of the Responsibility to Protect, which changed the international norm environment. The domestic norm environment shifted to give state sovereignty a less decisive role in cases of massive human rights violations.

Foreign policy coordination vis-à-vis the international norm of sovereignty: Macedonia’s and Montenegro’s recognition of Kosovo

Historically, recognition of new states is widely acknowledged to have been a function of the society of states’ normative judgement about sovereignty during different historical periods. Despite recognition being an individual practice of each state, ‘Great Powers’ have often preferred to take a coordinated action amongst themselves when recognizing new states, setting thus a normative standard for smaller states to follow. This article sets to examine how small states coordinate recognition when ‘Great Powers’ fail to do so. By adopting an analytical framework which enmeshes the domains and conditions in which foreign policy change and international norms interact, this article examines the cases of Macedonia’s and Montenegro’s coordinated foreign policy change vis-a-vis Kosovo’s independence. The article finds that Macedonia’s and Montenegro’s coordinated foreign policy change was enabled only after the conditions primarily in the domain of politics and polity at the international level changed, enabling coordination to take place. Unlike the dominant claims in Foreign Policy literature that conceive of the ‘window of opportunity’ as exogenously given to actors, this article introduces the notion of foreign policy coordination arguing that actors can in fact be actively engaged in creating a ‘window of opportunity’ to materialise their desired foreign policy change.