Understanding foreign policy analysis

In IR204, we began the unit by defining foreign policy and identifying the common elements in the definition of foreign policy. One common element is the state; the state is just an abstract made concrete by the presence of human beings.

Throughout history we have read about the many heroes or heroines who changed the course of their civilization. Almost all of them were and are human beings and not reptiles or amphibians. Thus, human beings are like fuel in a car that makes the car move or like flour in a cake.

This understanding is the starting point for our discussion on foreign policy analysis. According to Hudson (2007, p. 4), foreign policy analysis is the study of human decision makers acting singly or in groups.

Acting singly in a position of authority and power a human being like the President of the United States of America has the capability to make a decision that will change the world. To understand the factors that influence a single decision maker one must refer to the individual level of analysis. At the individual level, there are two approaches to decision making; the rational and the cognitive psychology approach.

Rational involves reasoning in the form of a cost and benefit analysis, while cognitive psychology involves the use of cognitive, emotional, psychological and biological factors including perceptions. The poliheuristic approach is when a decision maker uses both approaches together to make a decision.

As much as we want to be rational, sometimes because we are not robots, we do take the cognitive psychology approach in decision making. That means, we make decisions based on our human emotions, gender and perceptions.

Wikipedia states that foreign policy analysis involves the study of how a state makes foreign policy by analyzing the decision making process. From conceptualization to implementation the decision making process is very cumbersome. Furthermore, Wikipedia states that foreign policy analysis can be considered a sub-field of the study of international relations, which aims to understand the processes behind foreign policy decision making.

According to the foreign policy analysis website;

“As a field of study foreign policy analysis is characterized by its actor-specific focus. In its simplest terms, it is the study of the process, effects, causes, or outputs of foreign policy decision-making in either a comparative or case-specific manner. The underlying and often implicit argument theorizes that human beings, acting as a group or within a group, compose and cause change in international politics”.

In a comparative manner means to compare different cases, while a case-specific manner means analyzing a particular case to help one understand the process, effects, causes, or outputs of foreign policy decision-making.

If you compare the various ways in which different scholars and websites define foreign policy analysis, the common elements are human beings and decision making. It is human beings who make decisions. Decision making is a process that involves human beings acting singly or in groups to satisfy both personal and national interest.

Maybe from reading the different definitions of foreign policy analysis you have your own take on the question ‘what is foreign policy analysis?’ If you have a simple definition, please share with the rest of us on the Moodle discussion forum. Like I always say; ‘no one has monopoly over knowledge’.

I like the definition of foreign policy as; a line of argument rationalizing the course of action a government takes, when interacting with other states and non-state actors in the international system.

‘Course of action a government takes’ means a decision. It is common knowledge that only human beings make decisions either acting alone or in a group. Thus, this is how the definition of foreign policy is related to the sub-field of foreign policy analysis.

In other words, foreign policy analysis is like a magnifying glass that we will use to look deep into the definition of foreign policy to see how, why and what course of action is taken by whom at what time.

Foreign policy analysis is the study of human decision makers acting singly or in groups to make decisions that have international and national significance. Like all other social sciences, human beings and the decisions we make is the fundamental element of international relations. I believe Hudson (2007) calls it the ground of international relations.

It will be a great challenge to document the foreign policy process in PNG. We will have to find out how culture influence decision makers. Apart from culture, what other unique features influence decision makers. This will help us confirm some of the theories of international relations or foreign policy analysis.

Reference

Hudson, V. (2007). Foreign policy analysis classic and contemporary theory. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Wikipedia. (n. d.). Foreign policy analysis. Retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://www.en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_policy_analysis

Foreign policy analysis. (n. d.) Retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://www.foreignpolicyanalysis.org/