Lecture Notes: Understanding Foreign Policy and Diplomacy

I. Foreign Policy

 Definition: Foreign policy refers to the actions, decisions, and goals that a state pursues
towards the outside world. It represents what a state aims to achieve in its external relations
with others.
 It involves both general purposes and specific strategies a state uses to achieve or
promote its national interest.
 According to Rochester, foreign policy is a set of priorities and precepts established by
national leaders as guidelines for choosing actions in international affairs.
 It encompasses specific strategies and instruments, including economic and diplomatic
tools, employed to achieve objectives.

II. Factors Affecting Foreign Policy

 Foreign policy is shaped by both external/systemic factors and internal factors.

 Systemic Factors: International regimes, international organizations, and the prevalence
of great powers influence foreign policy.
 Internal Factors: A state's economic, technological, and military capabilities heavily
affect its foreign policy.
 Idiosyncrasy of Leaders: The unique characteristics and perspectives of leaders
significantly contribute to foreign policy making and implementation.

III. Driving Motive: National Interest

 The primary driving motive behind foreign policy is the pursuit of national interest.
 All states aim to promote their national interest to the extent their capability allows.

IV. National Interest

 Definition: National interest is considered the raison d'état (the reason of state), used to
justify state actions and policy towards other states.
  It refers to the set of values, orientations, goals, and objectives a country seeks to achieve
in its international relations.
 National interest has been the main driving force determining the content of foreign policy.
 Holsti's Definition: An "image of the future state of affairs" that governments, through
policymakers, aspire to bring about by wielding influence abroad and changing or
sustaining the behavior of other states. This highlights that national interest relates to
governmental ambition for future interactions.
 Seabury's Definitions:
o Normative: A set of purposes a nation should seek to realize in its foreign relations.
o Descriptive: The purposes a nation, through its leadership, appears to pursue
persistently over time.

V. Controversies and Complexity of National Interest

 There is significant debate on whether national interest can be defined objectively or

subjectively (as an art).
 Foreign policy decision-making is often not a clear-cut and rational process.
 Policies can arise from internal political and bureaucratic debates.
 Multiple conflicting criteria compete for priority when decision-makers shape national
interest.
 Official statements, sometimes for propaganda, can obscure the real motives of state action.
 Colmbis's Criteria for Defining National Interest: A multiplicity of criteria can be used,
including:
o Operational Philosophy: How decision-makers approach policy.
 Synoptic: Acting in a bold, sweeping fashion; introducing major new
policies based on the assumption of having enough information to
predict/control consequences.
 Incremental: Acting cautiously, probing, experimentally; following a trial-
and-error approach. Assumes problems are too complex for bold initiatives
without worrying about consequences; seeks to perfect existing policies.
 o Ideological Criteria: Using ideology to identify friends or enemies and establish
relations. Examples include communism vs. capitalism during the Cold War.
National interest can be shaped by the ruling regime's ideology.
o Moral and Legal Criteria: Acting morally (keeping promises, avoiding
exploitation, upholding accepted principles) and legally (abiding by international
law, acting in the spirit of equity/justice where rules are absent).
o Pragmatic Criteria: A low-key, matter-of-fact orientation based on prudence and
rationality. Decisions are made based on scientific cost-benefit analysis or merit to
the country's interest, without considering normative issues like morality or
personal sentiments. Practical utility is key.
o Professional Advancement Criteria: Actions manipulated for personal success,
professional survival, and growth. Can involve conformist behavior ("go along to
get along") in bureaucracies, often resisting new policies. Leaders may conform to
popular pressure or strong elites for political survival.
o Partisan Criteria: Equating the survival/success of a political party, ethnic, or
religious group with the country's survival/success. Can also involve equating the
interest of one's organization (e.g., army, foreign office) with the national interest.
o Bureaucratic-Interest Criteria: Prioritizing policy issues based on the interests of
one's organization, potentially leading to battles over resources.
o Ethnic/Racial Criteria
o Class-Status Criteria
o Foreign Dependency Criteria: Particularly applicable to less developed countries
(LDCs) historically under colonialism and still dependent on former masters for
aid, expertise, technology, or security. Governments may depend on outside powers
for survival, making it difficult to defend/promote national interest.
 Conclusion: National interest is not a purely scientific process leading to optimal
advantage; it results from conflicting wills, ambitions, motivations, needs, and
demands.

VI. Foreign Policy Objectives

 Foreign policy sets short-term, middle-term, and long-term goals proportional to a
state's capability.
 Classification criteria for objectives: value placed on the objective, time element for
achievement, and demands imposed on other states.
 Based on these, objectives are classified as:
o Core Values and Interests (Short-Range Objectives): Goals for which people
will make ultimate sacrifices; fundamental principles and "articles of faith". Must
be preserved or extended at all times.
 Relate to the self-preservation of the state's physical, political, and cultural
identities.
 Physical identity: Maintenance of territorial integrity.
 Political identity: Preservation of existing politico-economic systems.
 Cultural identity: Preservation of ethnic, religious, linguistic, and
historical norms.
 These are short-range because other goals cannot be realized if the state's
existence is not ensured.
o Middle Range Goals: Vary significantly across states due to differences in
economic/technological progress and military capability.
 Minimum aim is often actions that have the highest impact on domestic
economic and welfare needs and expectations.
 Includes efforts to meet economic-betterment demands through
international action.
 Impose demands on several other states and have serious commitment and
time limits attached.
o Universal Long Range Goals: Plans, dreams, and visions about the ultimate
political or ideological organization of the international system.
 Seldom have definite time limits.
 Require capability and power to have international repercussions beyond
rhetoric.
 Even less capable states formulate long-range objectives proportional to
their strength.
VII. Foreign Policy Behaviors

 Refers to the actions states take towards each other.

 These actions are tied to achieving larger objectives (short to long term).
 Analysis involves considering patterns/trends and dimensions of foreign policy.

VIII. Patterns and Trends in Foreign Policy Behavior

 Inconsistencies and double standards are common in foreign policy records.

Categorizations like "peace loving" or "war-like" are difficult.
 Wolfers' Three Patterns of Foreign Policy Behavior:
o Self-preservation: Maintaining the status quo. Example: United States foreign
policy often categorized this way.
o Self-extension: Revising the status quo in one's own favor. Example: Emerging
powers like China, India, Brazil, Germany restructuring international institutions
to promote national interest.
o Self-abnegation: Revising the status quo in someone else's favor. Example:
Foreign policy trends in Less Developing Countries (LDC).

IX. Dimensions of Foreign Policy Behavior

 Behavior can change over time with leadership style and circumstances.
 Dimensions include alignment, scope, and modus operandi.
 Alignment Tendencies: Whether national leaders ally with countries or remain neutral.
Can change over time.
o Alliance: Formal agreements for mutual military assistance. Carry legal weight,
benefits (pooling resources, base access) and risks (interference in domestic affairs,
being dragged into conflict).
o Neutrality: Stance of formal non-partisanship in world affairs. Benefits (avoiding
problems of alliances like creating enemies) and risks (no guaranteed military
protection if war arises). Example: Switzerland's historic neutrality.
 o Non-alignment: Foreign policy pattern of many developing states during the Cold
War (Non-Alignment Movement - NAM). Aimed for a path disregarding West/East
blocs and alliances; noble agenda included South-South cooperation.
 Scope of Activities and Interests: The extent of a country's international contacts. Affects
outcome of disputes/crises.
o Global Actors: Countries with extensive, far-reaching international contacts,
interacting regularly in nearly every region. Historically, major powers define
interests globally. Example: USA often defines national interest globally.
o Regional Actors: Most countries, interacting primarily with neighboring states.
Contacts outside the region often concern economic issues (like trade) with major
actors. Example: South Africa is a regional actor in Africa, particularly Southern
Africa.
o Isolationism: Scope becomes very narrow, cutting off most international contacts,
due to weakness or geographic remoteness. Example: Burma in the 1960s and 70s.
Few countries are totally isolated, and isolationism is less viable in an
interdependent age. Major global actors have sometimes passed through periods of
isolationism/regional focus.
 Modus Operandi (Method of Operation): How countries approach solving problems.
o Multilateral: Relying on multilateral institutions (like the UN) and diplomatic
forums with several states. More multilateral states seek solutions through these
forums rather than purely bilateral approaches. Many developing countries use
multilateral approaches to enhance collective bargaining power.
o Unilateral: Choosing to solve problems by themselves.

X. Instruments of Foreign Policy

 Specific tools employed to realize objectives. Each instrument involves an element of

power.
 Key instruments include:
o Diplomacy: A system of structured communication between parties, usually states.
Defined as a process between actors (diplomats) within the international system,
engaging in private/public dialogue to pursue objectives peacefully.
  Goal: Influence the behavior of others in one's interest.
 Evolution: Historically limited to formal, rigid bilateral relations. Post-
WWI saw reforms like multilateral diplomacy, public diplomacy, and
summit diplomacy, contrasting with secret/bilateral diplomacy.
 Essence: Regardless of style, the core of diplomacy is bargaining.
Bargaining settles differences over priorities through proposals for mutually
acceptable solutions. Used to reach agreements, compromises, and
settlements where objectives conflict. Involves attempts to change other
governments' policies/actions/attitudes/objectives through persuasion,
rewards, concessions, or threats.
 Rules of Effective Diplomacy: Be realistic (goals match ability), be careful
what you say (weigh words), seek common ground (dispute starts, common
ground ends negotiations; maintain flexibility), understand the other side
(appreciate perspective), be patient (don't rush into unwise concessions),
leave avenues of retreat open (allow opponents to save face/prestige).
 Often uses "carrot and stick" approaches (threats, punishment, promises,
rewards).
o Economic Instruments: Using economic policies to reward or punish states.
Relies on international interdependence for resources/commodities.
 Examples: Tariffs (taxes on imports for revenue, protection, or influence),
Quotas (limiting import quantities, often at favorable prices for the supplier
within the limit), Boycotts (eliminating import of specific or all products
from a country, enforced by requiring licenses), Embargos (prohibiting
one's own businesses from transactions with another country, on specific or
all goods), Loans, Credits, Currency Manipulations (rewards like
favorable terms, manipulation for trade terms), and Foreign Aid.
 Purposes (Holsti): (1) Achieve foreign policy objectives by exploiting
need/dependence (rewards or punishments); (2) Increase state capability or
deprive an enemy's capability; (3) Create economic satellites
(markets/resource suppliers) or maintain political obedience through
dependence.
  Foreign Aid: Transfer of money, goods, or technical advice. Types: military
aid, technical assistance, grants, import programs, development loans.
 Objectives: Primarily donor security by strengthening allies (e.g.,
US/USSR spending on military aid post-WWII). Often used for
achieving donor's political and economic objectives, not solely
humanitarian.
 Aid is frequently tied to specific packages designed to change
recipient's domestic or foreign policies. Donors can manipulate aid
(increase/decrease) to encourage reforms (e.g., democracy,
deregulation) or threaten consequences if not carried out. Large
recipients often have strategic/symbolic importance (e.g., India,
Pakistan, Israel, Egypt).
 Other Instruments mentioned briefly: propaganda, terrorism (sabotage), and use of force
(war).