Chapter Two

Understanding Foreign Policy and

Diplomacy
Introduction
• Foreign policy of a state is the actions, decisions and goals that states
pursue towards the outside world.
• International regimes, international organizations, the prevalence of
great powers affects the foreign policy of a state.
• Internally, the economic, technological and military capabilities of
states heavily affect foreign policy.
• It is important to understand the deriving motives behind foreign
policy, viz., the pursuit of national interest.
• states establish diplomatic relations and contacts and use different
tactics to protect, often to maximize, their national interest.
National Interest
• National interest refers to set of values, orientation, goals and objectives a given country would like
to achieve in its international relations.
• A. K. Holsti, Power or the ability to influence the behaviors of other states is the primary instrument
to implement national interest.
• According to Seabury, national interest is “set of purposes which a nation…should seek to realize in
the conduct of its foreign relations”.
• Foreign policies are often generated through great internal political and bureaucratic debates.
multiplicity of criteria used in defining national interest, including
operational philosophy
• Depending on time, location, your orientation toward the world around you, and in particular the
action of your predecessors, i.e. Synoptic and incremental orientation.
moral and legal criteria
 moral behavior, in international politics involves keeping your promise –treaties, living and letting
others live (the poor and the disadvantaged), avoiding exploitation and uneven development
between the developing countries and the developed ones
 abiding by the rules of international law to the extent that such rules are identified and accepted.
Cont…
pragmatic criteria
• On the basis of the scientific analysis of cost and benefit or merit and demerit to your
country interest, you may act.
ideological criteria
• national interest may be shaped by underlying ideological orientations of the regime in
power.
professional advancement
• your action may be manipulated and adjusted in consideration of your professional survival
and growth
partisan criteria
• You may tend to equate the interest of your organization (the army, the foreign office, and so
forth) with the national interest.
foreign –dependency criteria.
• As a result of this state of dependency, the less developing countries face difficulties to
defend and promote their national interest
Cont…
• Realist scholars, particularly, Hans Morgenthau advised leaders to
prioritize pragmatic criteria when defining national interest and
employing foreign policy.
• He defines national interest in terms of pursuits of power.
• He also warns leaders of states to be cautious enough in calculating the
range and scope of their countries national interest, which should be
proportional to their capabilities.
• According to Morgantheu, a good (prudent) diplomat has the ability to
assess one’s needs and aspirations while carefully balancing them against
the needs and aspirations of others.
• Based on liberalist argument, specific actions and objective of foreign
policy have often been derived from general moral and legal guidelines
and principles.
2.2. Understanding Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy
Behaviors
• Foreign policy refers to the sets of objectives and instruments that a state
adopts to guide its relation with the outside world.
• The scope and content of foreign policy of a state is often determined by the
capabilities of the concerned state.
• The foreign policy involves general purposes, priority of goals to be realized and
achieved.
• Morgenthau suggests that the minimum goal a state would like to achieve is
survival, i.e. to protect physical, political, and cultural identities against any
encroachment by other states.
• It has also specific strategies and instruments, economic and diplomatic tools
that states employ to achieve their objectives (national interest).
• The most widely employed instruments include, diplomatic bargaining,
economic instruments, propaganda, terrorism (sabotage), and use of force
(war).
Cont…
• Diplomacy has less element of power as compared to other instruments. Yet states
may manipulate carrot and stick methods such as reward or threats so as to induce
agreements.
Foreign Policy Objectives
• States classify the foreign policy in to short term, middle term and long term based
on:-
1. The value placed on the objective
2. The time element placed on its achievement; and
3. The kind of demands the objective imposes on other states in international system.
Based on these criteria, the objectives can be classified as:
Short range or core values and interests, to which states commit their very existence
and that must be preserved or extended at all time.
middle range goals, which normally impose demands on several others states.
universal long range goals-which seldom have definite time limits.
 Cont…
Core Interests and Values (Short Range Objectives)
• Mostly related to the self preservation of political and economic systems,
the people and its culture, and the territorial integrity of a state.
Middle Range Objectives
• It varies across states due to the difference in the level of economic and
technological progress, as well as the military capability.
• Mostly states take a course of action which will have the highest impact
on the domestic economic and welfare needs and expectation.
Long- Range Objectives
• concerning the ultimate political or ideological organization of the
international system, and rules governing relations in that system.
Cont…

 Foreign Policy Behavior: Patterns and Trends

• refers to the actions states take towards each other.
• According to Arnold Wolfers, the foreign policy behaviors categorized into three patterns. i.e.
1. self-preservation (maintaining the status quo);
2. self-extension (revising the status quo in one’s own favor);
3. self-abnegation (revising the status quo in some else’s favor).
 Foreign Policy Dimensions
Alignment
• A country’s alignment behavior can vary from time to time during its history in response to
changing circumstances and policy decisions.
• Alliances are formal agreements to provide mutual military assistance; as such, they carry
legal weight and certain benefits as well as risks.
• Neutrality is a stance of formal non partisanship in world affairs.
• Nonalignment has been the foreign policy pattern of most developing state during cold war.
Cont…
Scope
• A country’s scope of contact can affect the outcome of disputes and crises.
• With regards to the scope of activities a state has in international relations, one
can identify at least three patterns of foreign policy behaviors. Some actors act in
Global terms, others as Regional terms, and those that follow policy of
Isolationism.
Mode of Operation/ “Modus Opernadi’
• Some countries often rely on multilateral institutions to address different issues.
Still others very much rely on bilateral and unilateral means.
• Most developing countries used the multilateral approaches to address many
issues of concern with the spirit of cooperation and peace.
• Countries that have strong economic and military muscles would prefer bilateral
approach to settle problems. They play the carrot and stick diplomacy to affect the
outcomes of events.
Cont…
Instruments of Foreign Policy
Diplomacy
• It as a system of structured communication between two or more parties.
• Diplomacy can be defined as a process between actors (diplomats) who exist within a
system (international relations) and engage in private and public dialogue to pursue their
objectives in a peaceful manner.
• The goals of diplomacy is to influence the behaviors of others in ones interest.
• The essence of diplomacy is bargaining.
• Bargaining can be defined as a means of settling differences over priorities between
contestants through an exchange of proposals for mutually acceptable solutions.
• It is the attempt to change the policies, actions, attitudes and objectives of other
government and their diplomats by persuasion, offering rewards, exchange concessions,
or making threats.
• The modern diplomacy also involves non-state actors which brought multilateral agencies
into the IR.
Cont…
Rules of Effective Diplomacy
Be realistic
Be careful about what you say
Seek common ground
Understand the other side
Be patient
Leave avenues of retreat open
Economic Instruments of Foreign Policy
• Economic interdependence is the crucial feature of international system.
• Economic, particularly trade instruments of foreign policy are normally used for three purposes, i.e.
• To achieve any foreign policy objective by exploiting need and dependence and offering economic
rewards, or threat, ending or imposing economic punishments
• To increase a state’s capability or deprive a potential enemy’s capabilities
• To create economic satellites (guaranteed markets and resources of supply) or help maintain
political obedience in satellites by creating a relationship of economic dependence.
Cont…
• When carrot and stick approach applied by states, at least two conditions must be fulfilled. i.e.
1. The target of the influence or act must perceive that there is a genuine need for the reward or
for the avoidance of the punishment, and;
2. no alternative market or source of supply must be easily available to the target.
• Some of the economic instruments are
• Tariff: foreign made products coming into a country are taxed for the purpose of raising revenue,
protecting domestic producers from foreign competition, or other domestic economic reasons.
• Quota: control imports of some commodities in amounts.
• Boycott: government eliminates the import of either a specific commodity or the total range of
export products from a certain country.
• Embargo: prohibits its own business men from concluding its transactions with commercial
organization in the country against which the embargo is organized.
• Loans, Credits and Currency Manipulations
• Foreign Aid: The main type of aid program includes, military aid, technical assistance, grants and
commodity import program, and development loans.
Cont…
• Aid is thus tied with some package designed to change the domestic
or foreign policies of the recipient countries.
• Military Aid: In this aid scheme, the donors supply money and
material, while the recipient provided most of the man power.
• It is used to create local power balances or preponderances, thus
reducing the likelihood that the donor will have to station troops
abroad or intervene militarily to protect its interests.
2.3. Overview of Foreign Policy of Ethiopia
Foreign Policy during Tewodros II (1855-1868)
• He wanted to create a united Ethiopia.
• He introduced the idea of modernity and modern army at the time.
• He tried to develop a dynamic foreign policy that reached out beyond the Horn Region.
• He sought the Western Christian world to recognize his country and help him to
modernize his country.
• He tried to use Christianity as instrument of foreign policy.
• His foreign contact with Britain was the reason that finally led him to conflict and his
suicidal death.
Foreign Policy during Yohannes IV (1872-1889)
• Yohannes IV considered Islam as a threat to the territorial integrity of the polity.
• In addition to Muslim threat, the emperor saw European expansionism (Italy) as greater
threat to the survival of the country.
• He had a war against Mahdist which led him to death.
Cont…

Foreign Policy during Menelik II (1889-93)

• He had an early diplomatic ties with Italy before he assume power.
• The southward expansionism policy of Menelik was mainly targeted to have access to
Sea Port, Zeila, as the country’s access to the sea in the North had fallen under Italy.
• The emperor followed double track diplomacy to contain or reverse Italy’s expansion
and maintain the territorial integrity of his country.
On the one hand, he signed treaties like the Wuchale treaty and to solve the
challenge amicably.
On the other hand the emperor was preparing himself by accumulating military
ammunitions to defend the aggression.
• In 1896, the emperor declared nation-wide war against Italy in defense of the
territorial integrity and sovereignty of the century old nation
• Following the victory of Adowa many European powers recognized Ethiopia as an
independent African state.
Cont…
Foreign Policy during Emperor Haile Selassie I (1916-1974)
• Teferi Mekonnen, facilitated Ethiopia’s entry to the League of Nations in 1923.
• When the Italian Fascists invaded Ethiopia in 1936 the Emperor fled to London and established a
government in exile.
• He, then, presented his appeal to the League of Nations in Geneva. But, the League ultimately failed
to take any substantive measure against Italy and the plea of the King was ignored.
• His diplomatic skills and Britain’s own strategic necessities in the area enabled him to elicit the aid of
the British in securing the liberation of Ethiopia.
• In the immediate post-war period, Ethiopia was extremely dependent on British military, economic
and technical aid. To free Ethiopia, he establish close diplomatic ties with the U.S.A.
• British Military Aid was withdrawn in 1952, and the King moved quickly to firm up relations with the
United States.
• Ethiopia also played significant role in Africa in fighting for African independence and to end
colonialism and apartheid, for the formation of OAU.
• Ethiopia was also became the founding state of the UN.
• Ethiopia also played a significant role in maintaining international peace and security by committing
its troops for peacekeeping operations in Korea in 1951 and the Congo in 1961.
Cont…
Foreign Policy during the Military Government (1974—1991)
• Its foreign policy largely oriented to socialist ideology.
• The primary objectives of the foreign policy were survival of the regime and maintaining
the territorial integrity of the country.
• The country was heavily dependent on military aid on the Soviet Union and other
socialist states.
• Ethio-US relations marking its lowest point with the closure of the US military base and
operation of military assistance within 72 hours.
• The Soviet Union and its allies were able to exert immense influence in both domestic
and foreign affairs of Ethiopia.
• The USSR developed strong interest to dominate the horn of Africa.
• Ethiopia shares the Nile and its longest border with Sudan, yet the relation between the
two had been strained for decades.
• The regime had extended its military and technical support to Freedom fighters in
Angola and Rhodesia, and also Palestine.
Cont…

The Foreign Policy of Ethiopia in the Post 1991

• Ethiopia’s foreign policy is driven primarily by the quest to ensure
national interest (democracy and development) and security.
• It followed an inside-out approach to build strong diplomatic leverage.
• Economic diplomacy is adopted in fighting poverty and backwardness
and address the issues of development.
• It involves attracting foreign investments, seeking markets for Ethiopian
exportable commodities, seeking aid and confessional loans too.
• The other foreign policy strategy is building up the military capability of
the country.