Foreign Policy (GFPP2223) .

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GROUP B
1. What do we understand about the term ‘foreign policy’ ?
Foreign policy, in general objectives guide the activities and relationships of one state in its
interactions with other states. Its a plan of action adopted by one nation in regards to its
diplomatic dealings with other countries. Foreign policies are established as a systematic
way to deal with issues that may arise with other countries. The development of foreign
policy is influenced by domestic considerations, the policies or behaviour of other states, or
plans to advance specific geopolitical designs. Leopold von Ranke emphasized the primacy
of geography and external threats in shaping foreign policy, but later writers emphasized
domestic factors. Diplomacy is the tool of foreign policy, and war, alliances, and
international trade may all be manifestations of it. Foreign policy also can be refer as to a
state’s international goals and its strategies to achieve those goals.
Foreign policymakers follow the same five steps with which public policy gets made:
a) Agenda setting: A problem or issue rises to prominence on the agenda.
b) Formulation: Possible policies are created and debated.
c) Adoption: The government adopts one policy.
d) Implementation: The appropriate government agency enacts the policy.
e) Evaluation: Officials and agencies judge whether the policy has been successful.

“Foreign policy is the key element in the process by which a state translates its broadly
conceived goals and interests into concrete course of action to attain these objectives and
preserve interests”. Said Padelford and Lincolin.

2. How the following two videos explain ‘foreign policy’.

3. What is the level of analysis that has been discussed in International Relations subject
?

In political science, we use three widely accepted levels of generalization or abstraction

to help understand highly complex problems in world politics. They are the individual,
state or domestic, and the international system. This is what level of analysis means.

a) International system
The international or systemic level of analysis argues that all foreign policy can be
understood without even looking at the internal characteristics of nations or individuals.
Rather, characteristics of the international system lead nations to behave in particular
ways based upon how much power they hold. This level explains outcomes from a
system wide level that includes all states. It takes into account both the position of states
in the international system and their interrelationships. The position of states constitutes
the systemic structural level of analysis. This involves the relative distribution of power,
such as which state; great, middle, or small power, and geopolitics. The interaction of
states constitutes the systemic process level of analysis.

b) State level
Supporters of state level analysis argue that the international system level tells only part
of the story of international relations, but looking at the backgrounds of states which are
type of government, economic performance, geography, history and cultural values.
This can offer a more complete explanation. In this view, it is important to note that the
Cold War was not just a conflict between two superpowers but that one of the two
powers was a democracy. Similarly, the economic systems of the two powers which is
capitalist and communist are also significant. A state-level analyst could point to the
collapse of the USSR's economy in the 1980s as one of the factors leading to the end of
the Cold War. The U.S. intervention in Iraq could be explained by the U.S. cultural
belief that its political and economic systems are "good" while other systems are "bad”.

c) Individual level
The individual level of analysis locates the cause of events in individual leaders or the
immediate circle of decision makers within a particular country. It focuses on human
actors on the world stage identifying the characteristics of human decision making. The
individual level emphasizes the "great man in history" concept. In this view, the very
personalities of leaders shape foreign policy. Basically, individual are the one that very
important. This could lead to the family and education background of someone. It also
the one that give impact and made history on the personality. For example, the cause of
World War I is from the particular leaders in power at that time. Kaiser Wilhelm II is
considered to be the level from which the cause originated.

References
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7512284_three-levels-analysis-international-
relations.html
https://worldpoliticsblog.wordpress.com/tag/levels-of-analysis/
http://global.britannica.com/topic/study-of-international-relations
http://www.sparknotes.com/us-government-and-politics/american-
government/foreign-policy/section1.rhtml