Strategic Foreign Policy Research Articles

Images in International Relations: An Experimental Test of Cognitive Schemata

We build on the tradition of studying images in international relations by developing a theory of perceived relationships and their associated images. The psychological theory is connected to a set of assumptions drawn from international relations theory that suggest perceived strategic relationships can be conceived of as a function of perceived relative power, perceived culture, and the perceived threat or perceived opportunity that a subject believes another actor represents. We hypothesize that perceived relationships evoke both cognitive and affective processes that lead to at least four ideal typical images. We further hypothesize that enemy, ally, colony, and degenerate images have identifiable and interrelated components. We test to see if the component parts of these images are related to each other, if the overall image affects the processing and interpretation of new information, and if strategic foreign policy choices follow from the cognitive and affective aspects of the image. The findings indicate that three of the four images are unified schemata, used even by inexperienced analysts. We find further that affect in combination with cognition does predict policy choice in the case of the enemy image. We suggest that image theory is a promising means by which foreign policy and international relations may be fruitfully studied.

Fire in the Andes: U.S. foreign policy and cocaine politics in Bolivia and Peru

Fire in the Andes is a trenchant comparative analysis of why the U.S. drug wars in Bolivia and Peru are failing. While frequent anti-drug battles are won, a flawed policy analysis and strategy have led to strategic foreign policy defeat in the region. This book fills an important gap in our in-depth knowledge of U.S. foreign policy and its application in the drug wars of the high Andes region of South America. Written from the perspective of a former active participant in the U.S. anti-drug policy formulation and implementation efforts, the study uses an in-depth comparative approach to evaluate the effectiveness of the U.S. anti-drug foreign policy in Bolivia and Peru which currently comprise the primary focus of the Clinton Administration's counter-drug efforts to combat narcotrafficking at the source in Latin America today.

Competitive Intelligence and the corporate jewels

The end of the Cold War shifted strategic and tactical foreign policy priorities from traditional superpower and client concerns to those reflecting national economic competitiveness, especially commercial and technology-related information. But while the threat of illegal industrial espionage has increased, so too has the new threat of legal—and systematic—competitive intelligence (CI) efforts by foreign and domestic competitors. Corporate efforts to protect proprietary information, the author argues, have tended to follow the classified-protection model developed to thwart clandestine or illegal intelligence operations, leaving firms unprepared to defend against an organized CI collection effort that analyzes information routinely gathered in the course of the target company's daily business activities. Companies must continue to use physical security against illegal threats while redirecting their thinking to CI protection strategies. It is important to realize that your company will and should lose information if it is effectively carrying out its business operations, and to shift from risk avoidance to risk management. The defensive key is to identify what is absolutely critical for the firm's survival or competitiveness—the “corporate jewels”—and then take action to limit their vulnerability to competitor CI collection. The military's five-step Operations Security (OPSEC) approach for assessing risk and establishing countermeasures can be adapted for competitive intelligence. Also, thinking about counterintelligence should move away from the government-clandestine model to an approach based on Counter-Competitor Intelligence (CCI)—seeking to learn during routine CI activities what intelligence activities competitors are directing at your company, and to analyze any damage. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Incorporating strategic government policy behavior and product differentiation into an international burley tobacco trade model

Most classical trade theory deals within a perfectly competitive framework that assumes homogeneous goods, many buyers and sellers with no market power, and no governmental intervention. However, many commodities are traded in an imperfectly competitive market. The objective of this economic note is to present a conceptual framework that analyzes the effects of strategic government policy intervention and product differentiation on an internationally traded commodity. The world burley tobacco market is utilized to rest the model. Burley tobacco is considered to be a differentiated good whose demand is influenced by the implicit value cigarette manufacturers place on certain quality characteristics. Thus, buyers are willing to pay price differentials for various burley tobaccos based upon percieved quality differentials. Governments distort these price differentials by implementing policy tools to support domestic farm incomes or to improve their tobacco's competitive position. The United States has historically produced the highest quality burley tobacco in the world. The United States is also the largest producer and exporter of burley tobacco, although its export share has declined in recent years. Malawi, Italy, and Brazil have joined the United States as major players in the world burley market. given the United States' dominant role int the world burley market and its comprehensive tobacco program, it is logical to suspect that changes in U.S. burley policies influence foreign burley policies. These strategic foreign policy responses affect world tobacco production and trade patterns. Because U.S. burley exports are included in qouta calculations and indirectly influence price supports, these strategic foreign policy responses may ultimately affect U.S. burley qoutas and price supports in following years. Therefore, this study investigates whether countries react to U.S. burley policies and whether the United States incorporates this reaction into its policy fromation.

Men, Money, and Diplomacy: The Evolution of British Strategic Foreign Policy, 1919-1926

Men, Money, and Diplomacy: The Evolution of British Strategic Foreign Policy, 1919-1926

There's No Deterring the Catholic Bishops

This article uses two episcopal texts published by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops during the 1980s as a case study of the role of ethics in the foreign policy process. No longer a topic for theologians, philosophers, and lawyers alone, as in past decades, the morality of foreign affairs is now a matter of public discourse and political strategy. The size and social diversity of the Catholic church, the convergence of its stands on anti-communism and anti-nuclear weaponry, and the cosmic nature of the nuclear threat allowed the bishops to make transnational references reaching into all corners of the globe. The church-state exchange introduced the ethics of consequences and promoted moral debate about strategic foreign policy and deterrence.

The Manner of Giving: Strategic Aid and Japanese Foreign Policy

The Manner of Giving: Strategic Aid and Japanese Foreign Policy

The Manner of Giving: Strategic Aid and Japanese Foreign Policy.

The Manner of Giving: Strategic Aid and Japanese Foreign Policy.

Soviet Military and Foreign Policies - 1. Raymond L. Garthoff: Soviet Military Policy. (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1966. Pp. vii276. $6.50.) - 2. Arnold L. Horelick and Myron Rush: Strategic Power and Soviet Foreign Policy. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966. Pp.225. $5.95.)

Soviet Military and Foreign Policies - 1. Raymond L. Garthoff: Soviet Military Policy. (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1966. Pp. vii276. $6.50.) - 2. Arnold L. Horelick and Myron Rush: Strategic Power and Soviet Foreign Policy. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966. Pp.225. $5.95.)

Book Review: U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe: Strategic Power and Soviet Foreign Policy

Book Review: U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe: Strategic Power and Soviet Foreign Policy

Strategic Power and Soviet Foreign Policy

Strategic Power and Soviet Foreign Policy

Strategic Power and Soviet Foreign Policy

Strategic Power and Soviet Foreign Policy

Strategic Psychological Operations and American Foreign Policy

Strategic Psychological Operations and American Foreign Policy