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What Is Foreign Policy Analysis

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What Is Foreign Policy Analysis
The recent and far-reaching changes in the world have presented a challenge to leaders who make foreign policy, as well as to those who study foreign policy. Precisely, because states are experiencing challenges and transformations both internally and externally that the analysis of foreign policy is important. Foreign policy analysis as a study of inquiry connects the study of international relations (i.e. the way states relate to each other in international politics) with the study of domestic politics i.e. functioning of government and the various actors.
According to foreignpolicyanalysis.org, it defined Foreign policy analysis “As a field of study characterized by its actor-specific focus. In the simplest terms, it is a study of 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 FPA, we ask why a state makes certain decisions in foreign affairs and how policies may have developed from these decisions. The information we get from answering the question are used to look for understandable patterns – across time, space and issues in order to explain a particular policy of a state. According to Juliet and Jeffery, they said that in the search for regular and identifiable patterns, FPA rejects the view that every event is completely unique. In line with this view, FPA seeks to explain the factors that influence not just a specific policy, but also looks critically at the state behavior generally because general knowledge can be used to anticipate future action.
FPA identifies multiple factors that influence state’s foreign policy which can be grouped into two internal factors and external factors. The internal factors constitute the citizens and the group within the system, the government organizations and the individual leaders. The



Bibliography: Cooper D.A. (2012). “Foreign Policy Analysis”. International Studies Association, Vol. 8, No. 1. pp 1-18. February “Foreign policy Analysis” – www.hppt://wikipedia.org march 20th. “Foreign policy Analysis.” Department of Political Science, College of Arts and Science, and the University of Missouri. www.hppt://foreignpolicyanalysis.org. Hans M. and Anders W. (2012). “Explaining Foreign Policy.” USA: Lynne Rienner publishers. Juliet K. (2003). “Foreign Policy Analysis in the twenty-first century: Back to comparison, forward to identity and ideas”. International Studies Review, Vol. 5, pp. 156-163 Michael C.M. (2000). “Analyzing policy: Choices, Conflict, and Practice” Chicago: W.W. Norton and Company. Valerie M.H. (1995). “Culture and Foreign Policy: Developing a Research Agenda”. Paper presented at the 36th annual conference of the International Studies Association Chicago, pp. 22-25. February Waltz K. (1979). “Theory of International Politics” Reading: Addison Wesley

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