Abe - His personal views affecting Japan's Foreign Policy
Is Abe the Person shaping Japan’s Foreign Policy?
In the study of international relations, scholars have outlined many ways of looking at issues to better understand them, and Kenneth Waltz’s Levels of analysis are taught to all scholars in their first semester of International Relations study.
Waltz outlines three levels of analysis of foreign policy: The Systemic level which looks at the role of the international system as a whole; the national level which examines the role of the state and the individual level which focuses of the idiosyncratic nature of individual leaders in determining a nation’s foreign policy.
Gerner in Neack et all (1995) explains Individual-level theories as those that focus on decision makers ‘in order to understand how an individual 's belief system, the way an individual perceives, interprets, and processes information about an international situation, and idiosyncratic personal attributes explain foreign policy choices.’ (p24)
For Jerel Rosati (Neack et al, 1995) Individual level foreign policy can be spoken of as a cognitive approach, an a approach rooted in Psychology and which posits that ‘individuals tend to be much more closed-minded due to their beliefs and the way they process information thus, they tend to resist adapting to changes in the environment. A cognitive perspective emphasizes the importance of examining the individuals involved in the policymaking process, for they are likely to view their environment differently.
Rosati then quotes Quincy Wright, who in his magnum opus, The Study of International Relations, proposed that psychology belongs at the "core" of International Relations as a discipline: "International relations cannot, therefore, be confined to intergovernmental relations and conclusions based on the assumption that they [i.e., psychological studies] fail to provide an adequate foundation for prediction and control. The minds of individuals who constitute the world 's population, the influences
In the study of international relations, scholars have outlined many ways of looking at issues to better understand them, and Kenneth Waltz’s Levels of analysis are taught to all scholars in their first semester of International Relations study.
Waltz outlines three levels of analysis of foreign policy: The Systemic level which looks at the role of the international system as a whole; the national level which examines the role of the state and the individual level which focuses of the idiosyncratic nature of individual leaders in determining a nation’s foreign policy.
Gerner in Neack et all (1995) explains Individual-level theories as those that focus on decision makers ‘in order to understand how an individual 's belief system, the way an individual perceives, interprets, and processes information about an international situation, and idiosyncratic personal attributes explain foreign policy choices.’ (p24)
For Jerel Rosati (Neack et al, 1995) Individual level foreign policy can be spoken of as a cognitive approach, an a approach rooted in Psychology and which posits that ‘individuals tend to be much more closed-minded due to their beliefs and the way they process information thus, they tend to resist adapting to changes in the environment. A cognitive perspective emphasizes the importance of examining the individuals involved in the policymaking process, for they are likely to view their environment differently.
Rosati then quotes Quincy Wright, who in his magnum opus, The Study of International Relations, proposed that psychology belongs at the "core" of International Relations as a discipline: "International relations cannot, therefore, be confined to intergovernmental relations and conclusions based on the assumption that they [i.e., psychological studies] fail to provide an adequate foundation for prediction and control. The minds of individuals who constitute the world 's population, the influences
Bibliography: Martin Fackler (2007) Prime Minister said Japan would not apologize (web article) retrieved on 02/01/14 from URL: http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20710F93F550C758CDDAA0894DF404482&fta=y&incamp=archive:article_related Deborah J John Hofilena (2014) (Web article) retrieved on 07/01/14 from URL: http://japandailypress.com/pm-abe-publicly-declares-need-to-revise-japans-pacifist-constitution-0241747/