Foreign Policymaking Research Articles

Role of National Media in Foreign Policy Formulation

To have a consensus has become an obligation between the decision makers and public opinion especially during the processes of foreign policy making with the developments occurred lately in communication technologies. This obligation also necessitated to strive to legitimize the strategies stated in public benefiting from the media means when it becomes necessary for decision makers to consider the public opinions obtained from the media instruments such as the radio, television, newspaper, the internet while determining foreign policy strategies. With this point of view a powerful, dynamic, and continuous relation may be said to exist between media and foreign policy making process in today’s world. This study aims to analyze the relation between media and foreign policy making process.

Military influence in foreign policy-making: changing dynamics in North African regimes

ABSTRACTThe strong political position armed forces enjoy in authoritarian states and the high priority military elites assign to foreign affairs would lead one to believe that in North Africa – a region made up of authoritarian states with the sole, recent, and partial exception of Tunisia – generals had the political standing to exert a major influence on foreign policy decisions. This would not be a correct assumption because in this region the armed forces’ political influence is actually highly variable. Of the five states analysed in this article (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia) the military is the dominant political institution only in Algeria and Egypt. In the other three countries, the army plays a marginal political role and, by extension, possesses modest foreign policy influence. Moreover, the political clout of these armies is not constant. Since the Arab Spring the political influence of Egyptian generals has considerably increased, that of their Tunisian colleagues has marginally risen, while the status of Libya’s military leaders has diminished.

Evolving role of North African civil society actors in the foreign policymaking process: youth, women’s, labour and human rights organisations

ABSTRACTThis article examines the evolving foreign policy roles of four sets of civil society actors – youth, women’s, labour and human rights groups – in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia during the Arab Spring and beyond. Our findings demonstrate that civil society groups initially flourished in the Arab Spring, with the region’s average ‘civil society rights score’ registering positive increases in 2011 and 2012. The period of 2013 to 2018 witnessed a deterioration in this average score, as civil society faced an authoritarian backlash from illiberal (authoritarian) and liberal (democratic) North African regimes. An examination of individual civil society organisations further demonstrates a range of influence on foreign policy. Youth groups exert the least impact on North African foreign policies, despite high expectations associated with their central role in revolutionary protests and change associated with the Arab Spring. In contrast, women’s, labour and especially human rights organisations have played more influential if still limited foreign policy roles. Finally, the impact of civil society on foreign policy is strongly mediated by a country’s level of democracy. Only in Tunisia, which made a successful transition to democracy, have civil society organisations in the post-Arab Spring continuously enjoyed the freedoms to organise, protest and provide input into policy, including foreign policy.

Neither Fish nor Fowl. How eu Delegations Challenge the Institution of Diplomacy: The Cases of Moscow and Washington

Summary This article explores European diplomatic cooperation abroad since 2009 by studying diplomatic structures and practices in two key locations: Moscow and Washington, dc. It analyses the functions of European Union (eu) delegations as part of the hybrid eu foreign policy system and their way of engaging with the changing global patterns of diplomatic practice. The empirical analysis draws on extensive semi-structured interviews conducted in Moscow and Washington during 2013-2014. Our cases confirm the deeper institutionalization and intensification of European diplomatic cooperation abroad. The eu delegations increasingly assumed traditional diplomatic tasks and coordinated member states on the ground. The eu delegations’ ability to establish good working relationships with member states as well as the leadership of key individuals (notably eu ambassadors) were key factors in shaping how this new system fell into place, which shows the continued prevalence of hybridity in eu foreign policy-making.

"Ideological Repertoires of the Brazilian Foreign Policy toward Africa across three presidential administrations (1995-2016): from realism to south-south solidarity, and back "

The article aims to identify the ideological repertoires mobilized by different presidential administrations in the context of the Brazilian foreign policy toward Africa from 1995 to 2016. The analysis of primary and secondary sources showed that Brazilian foreign policy toward Africa followed a general trend of ideological continuity. Brazilian foreign policy makers’ representations of Brazil – anchored on race, geography and material capabilities – and of Africa – framed through the lenses of solidarity, sentimentalism and pragmatism – changed only marginally. In addition, there was a consensus across administrations that “Africa cannot be ignored”. Change was mainly observed in the argumentative framework mobilized by the Lula da Silva administration (2003-2010). The Rousseff administration (2011-2016) enacted argument chains closer to those employed by the Cardoso administration (1995-2002). Both focused on a realist and creative approach to Africa and on the South Atlantic as a privileged area of cooperation. The Lula da Silva administration, in its turn, innovated by arguing that Brazil’s relations with African countries should be based on South-South solidarity, rather than caution and creativity, and by catapulting Africa as a whole to the top of Brazilian foreign policy agenda. According to the documents analyzed, these argumentative changes were mainly president-driven.

Europeanization of Turkey’s Foreign Policy: The Case of Turkey’s Mediation in the Israel–Palestine Conflict

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the Europeanization of Turkey’s foreign policy by examining Turkey’s mediating role in the Israel–Palestine dispute. The paper assesses whether, to what extent and how the EU shaped Turkey’s mediating role in the conflict. It is concluded that Turkish political actors used the EU to justify certain policies and their relations with certain actors, which would otherwise be considered unacceptable. Given its indirect impact on Turkey’s mediation, the EU’s role in Turkish foreign policy should not be exaggerated. There seems to be no evidence in this case that Turkish foreign policy-makers internalized EU foreign-policy norms.

A Symbiotic Relationship? Examining the Convergence of Views Between Practitioners and Scholars on Sanctions Effectiveness

In recent years, sanctions – or restrictive measures within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy – have become one of the European Union (EU)’s instruments of choice for dealing with external crises. Given EU foreign policymakers so often resort to sanctions, they should be aware of the limits, pitfalls, and benefits associated with this instrument. After all, a well-designed and well-managed sanctions policy requires a profound knowledge of the contextual conditions under which sanctions work – or fail to work. This policy-focused article, therefore, compares dominant views held by EU policy practitioners with the sanctions effectiveness literature. Building on thirty-six expert interviews conducted with members of the EU sanctions community, it examines whether there is a basis for evidence-based policy making inside the EU’s sanctions machinery. The article finds that while such basis exists, there is also room for mutual learning between academic experts and EU policy practitioners.

THE ESSENCE OF MYANMAR’S FOREIGN POLICY UNDER PRIME MINISTER U NU (1948-1962)

<p><strong>Abstract: </strong>In order to contribute to safeguard national security, to secure work for rebuilding the economy, whereby preserving and maximizing the national interests in general after independence (1948), the foreign policy makers of Myanmar have timely had the correction which be appropriate to the internal situations as well as complex developments of international and regional context in Cold War. The article will mention Myanmar's foreign policy, explain and analyse its roots and core contents under Prime Minister U Nu (1948 -1962).</p>

Following the Party in Time of War? The Implications of Elite Consensus

ABSTRACTProminent perspectives in the study of conflict point to two factors that exert substantial influence on public opinion about foreign intervention: (1) news about casualties and (2) signals from partisan elites. Past work is limited, however, in what it can say about how these two factors interact. We present an experiment designed to understand the surprisingly common scenario where elites send competing messages about whether the public should support war or oppose it—and these messages do not coincide with party divisions. We find that partisans are generally insensitive to news about casualties, but they become noticeably more sensitive when they perceive within-party disputes over support for the war. Independents, however, respond to news of casualties irrespective of what messages elites send. These findings shed light on when and how the public responds to competing and unclear cues and speak to the role of public opinion in determining conflict outcomes and democratic foreign policy-making more broadly.

Affairs of Humanity: Arguments for Humanitarian Intervention in England and Europe, 1698–1715

Abstract Why and how did a new type of intervention, intended to prevent rulers from punishing individuals for their religious beliefs and justified using natural law, emerge in England during the first decade of the eighteenth century? This article traces its origins to the War of the Spanish Succession, when Huguenot publicists and diplomats petitioned English politicians to negotiate freedom for Huguenot prisoners in France. In campaigning for prisoners’ freedom rather than for the restoration of Huguenot corporate rights in France, Huguenot publicists and diplomats had to justify intervention in universalising, non-confessional terms. Because those prisoners were not protected by treaty law, the laws of war, or the laws of France, they cited Protestant and humanist traditions of natural law and theories of natural sociability to justify negotiating their release. In so doing, they invited European readers, politicians and monarchs to sympathise with distant strangers—and even to take political action on their behalf—not only because they shared a common faith, but also because they belonged to human society and shared a common humanity. These arguments circulated both in print and among European diplomats, altering the conduct of international affairs. In England, this article shows, Huguenot campaigns influenced debates about intervention and English foreign policy-making. Thus, this article suggests a new narrative for the diffusion of humanitarian argument in eighteenth-century western European political culture.

No Longer the Elephant Outside the Room: Why the Ukraine Crisis Reflects a Deeper Shift Towards German Leadership of European Foreign Policy

Germany’s position as Europe’s predominant economic power has long been recognised. In recent years it has also emerged as a leading European foreign policy actor, although its willingness and capacity to play an explicit leadership role are debated. In particular, the ‘geo-economic’ analyses of Kundnani (The Paradox of German Power, 2014) and Szabo (Germany, Russia and the Rise of Geo-Economics, 2015) argue that German foreign policy is increasingly focused on narrow calculations of national interest resulting in a decline in the instinctive multilateralism that has characterised its international engagement since 1949. This article uses the German response to the current Ukraine crisis to contest these arguments. Examining both German engagement with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, a crucial component of its foreign policy-making, and its response to the Ukraine crisis, the article contends that far from becoming more unilateral, a more vigorous German multilateralism is emerging. This seeks to fully utilise all available multilateral channels and in turn reflects how far the centre of gravity in European foreign policy-making has shifted towards Berlin.

The Role of the Academia in Foreign Policymaking: International Practices and Perspectives as Lessons for Namibia

Academics for international relations (IR) studies as an academic discipline have over the years contributed to the process of foreign policymaking. Their contribution has been made through research and publications and providing advisory services to policymakers. Other platforms existing for academics are platforms for debates on foreign policy and providing training to foreign policymakers. The article discusses international experiences and perspectives, from all geographic regions, covering large states of the UN Security Council, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) and at least one small state from each geographic region. The lecture analyses the gaps existing between academics and foreign policymakers and explores methods that can be adopted to close the gaps and create a working relationship between the two stakeholders, with a view to make positive contributions to the making of foreign policy. It highlights the challenges facing academics in making an impact on foreign policy and the approach of foreign policymakers to the contribution by academics. The article propounds that, generally, academics are more influential in large states’ foreign policy-making process, compared to small states where the process of foreign policymaking includes a few stakeholders. Further, the appointment of policymakers from the academia background impacts on inclination to the role of the academia in foreign policymaking. There are no many platforms where debates on Namibia’s foreign policy are held and a limited number of Namibian academics play a role on foreign policymaking. The article provides a framework of best practices as lessons for Namibian academics and foreign policymakers.

Crossing to Safety from Cold War America: The Collaboration and Friendship of John Paton Davies, Jr. and George Frost Kennan

ABSTRACTThis analysis probes the interwoven careers and lives of two distinguished American diplomats, John Paton Davies, Jr. and George Frost Kennan. These Foreign Service officers, who rose to prominence in the years immediately after the Second World War, were embroiled in the formulation and implementation of controversial policy during the early Cold War. The experience of Davies and Kennan illustrates the domestic hazards that have dogged American foreign policy-making even into the present. Yet the focus here is on their friendship—a subject hitherto little examined in the scholarly literature—its connexion to the evolution of their policy recommendations, its steadying power in moments of moral and personal crisis, its tempering effect on failure. The assessment also draws on a notable work of fiction, Wallace Stegner’s 1987 Crossing to Safety, to consider the ineffable nature of friendship itself.

North Korea’s Foreign Policymaking and Nuclear Weapons

This paper examines the determinants of North Korea’s foreign policymaking to show why denuclearization efforts continue to fail to curb, let alone end, its nuclear weapons program. Two determinants, namely South Korea’s existential threat and North Korea’s juche ideology, are explored to conclude that “nuclear North Korea” is a natural and non-negotiable manifestation of its foreign policymaking.

Drones, state terrorism and international law

ABSTRACTThe conventional wisdom among US foreign policymakers is that drones enable precise strikes, and therefore limit collateral damage. In contrast, critics point out that many civilian casualties have ensued, and they variously cite poor intelligence and imprecision of the strikes as reasons for this. Critics have also raised concerns that the US and its allies are engaging in “lawfare” to legitimise violations of human rights law. As such, some have questioned whether academic engagement with the legal questions surrounding targeted killings amount to collusion with state attempts to legitimise human rights violations. This article will argue that by conceptualising the targeted killings programme as a form of state terrorism, we are better equipped to provide a critical analysis of the drones programme within the context of a long history of violence and terrorism which has underpinned the imperial and neo-imperial projects of the UK and US. The article will then argue that there are important similarities between the targeted killings programme, and previous UK and US counterinsurgency operations, including prior uses of air power, and operations involving the internment of terror suspects, and the targeting of specific individuals for interrogation and torture or disappearance. Common to these programmes is that they are forms of policing aimed at crushing rebellions, stifling disorder and constructing or maintaining particular political economies, through terror. Also common to these programmes are the attempts made either to conceal illicit actions, or in the event they are exposed, to shroud them in a veil of legitimacy. The article concludes by offering some brief reflections on why we should not abandon the quest to resolve the thorny legal questions around the targeted killings programme.

What Inputs Do Think Tanks Have in Foreign Policymaking in China?

Foreign affairs policymaking inputs by think tanks are one of the most difficult analytical characteristics to disaggregate and analyze. This is further compounded when examining an authoritarian regime such as China with limited publicly accessible information. Using novel text analytical techniques, this study examines (dis)similarities in foreign policy topics, and temporal shifts, amongst Chinese domestic think tanks during the early period of Xi Jinping’s administration (2013-present). Think tanks in our sample represent are refined by organizational types such as government, government-operated, and university-affiliated think tanks. In spite of operating in an increasingly centralized authoritarian institutional environment, we find variations in topics covered by think tanks over time and organizational type. These findings are notable for domestic and international actors wanting to engage with Chinese institutions who influence foreign affairs policymaking.

Middle power, status-seeking and role conceptions: the cases of Indonesia and South Korea

ABSTRACTThis article examines how role theory can enhance the middle-power literature in understanding the role preferences of middle powers. Rather than treating it as merely a function of material capability or good international citizenship, this article resituates middle power as a concept of international status that states aim to pursue through the enactment of role conceptions. Thus, it reinstates a conceptual distinction between ‘middle-power status’ and ‘middle-power roles’. The article suggests that the notion of role conceptions can analytically connect the status-seeking behaviour of middle powers with their foreign policy agenda. In so doing, it provides a more nuanced explanation of middle-power behaviour, which might differ between one middle power and another. Using Indonesia and South Korea as case studies of middle power, this article contends that foreign policymakers have strategically conceptualised and enacted several main roles that aim to capture historical experience, as well as ego and alter expectations, in order to pursue middle-power status. These role conceptions determine the foreign policy agenda of states in articulating their middle-power status.

Foreign Policy-Making Processes in 20-21st Centuries: Theoretical and Practical Background on the Example of the USA

The purpose of this article is to highlight the main changes of the foreign policy of theU.S .and notably the implication of shifts in the foreign policy decision making process.American foreign policy has not been changed for years as it still means protection ofhomeland, American citizens, and their friends all around the world. But what has beenchanged is obvious- it is American foreign policy making process. According to environmentalchanges the policy making process is also derived from one dimension intoanother. The Cold War has the dominating influence on the American experience notonly in a military but also in a political sense. The second traumatic event–September11, 2011called for immediate combating international terrorism. Realizing what are thetraces, the past had left it is crucial to understand how the United States will respondto the future.How does the environmental change affect policy and approaches? How do domesticfactors impact on foreign policy making? The paper will focus on the political system ofthe U.S. and its implications toward foreign-policy making provisions, the key membersof the foreign policy team players, the missions and goals of the USA government inforeign-policy decision making process.

Parliament and Foreign Policy-Making Process

Objective: The study discusses the role of the parliament in foreign policy-making. The role of the parliament has increased over time in light of the complexities and intertwined interests among countries and the emergence of globalization phenomenon, which has dehumanized the nature and reality of international relations, the need to deepen cooperation among the parliamentarians of countries has increased and expanding it to various fields, and hence emerged the role of parliament in foreign policy-making, so that Public Diplomacy is a substitute for government diplomacy.Method: The study is based on the institutional approach, which is one of the oldest methods used in political analysis. It stems from the study of political institutions in terms of composition and competencies. The institutional approach in its origins is due to the traditional constitutional school in the study of political systems, which was confusing the concept of state and the political system, and the latter is seen as the system of government as defined by constitutional law, i.e. the set of rules and laws governing public authorities and defining their terms of reference and functions.Results: The study concluded that parliamentary diplomacy has become a substitute for the official diplomacy and contributes side by side to the exclusion of war crises and finding the pursuit peaceful diplomatic solutions. The Public Diplomacy is a tributary of support for official diplomacy if coordinated together and the value of Public Diplomacy increases as the goals and orientations of the country's foreign policy express the values and aspirations of the people truthfully.Conclusion: The study concluded that parliaments - especially in democratic systems - play an important role in the process of foreign policy-making, and that there are external and internal factors affecting the effectiveness of the role of parliament in foreign policy. The Kuwaiti parliamentary experience reflected this development of parliamentary diplomacy and its role in foreign policy-making.

Foreign Policy-Making Processes in XX-XXI Centuries: Theoretical and Practical Background on the Example of the USA

“Avoid entangling alliances”- these words were formulated by George Washington in1789 and contained a message to the country to respect and regard other nations.Those words shaped United States foreign policy for more than a century.Today, as with all policy making, many people and organizations have a hand in settingUnited States foreign policy, but the President almost always has the primary responsibilityfor shaping it.The article aims to represent the political system of the U.S. and its implications towardforeign-policy making provisions, the key members of the foreign policy team players,the missions and goals of the USA government in foreign-policy decision making process.