Week 6 Slides Foreign Policy PDF

Foreign Policy Week 6 Foreign Policy – What is it? Foreign Policy aims to secure a country’s national interests and promote its values. Definition: It is the articulation of national interests and the means chosen to secure those interests. National interests are material and ideatio...

Foreign Policy Week 6 Foreign Policy – What is it? Foreign Policy aims to secure a country’s national interests and promote its values. Definition: It is the articulation of national interests and the means chosen to secure those interests. National interests are material and ideational. Material: the physical goals of state officials as they set policy. Eg. control over territory, trade agreements, resources, etc. Ideational: the promotion of values, norms, and ideas which enhance the security and prosperity of a nation- state. Case Study: Russia’s Foreign Policy Putin continuously talks about the national interest of Russia. What is it? “Russia is going to fight for its national interest until the very end.” Material interests: Security concerns over NATO expansion, control over strategic territory/what he asserts is historical Russian territory (expansion? Putin claims no); trade agreements and cooperation with China and BRIC countries. Ideational interests: Ethnonationalism (a vision of a common Russian ethnicity, language, and Orthodox religion), the belief that Ukraine is an artificial state, anti-liberal/Western values, What Putin calls ‘denazification’. Nationalism Nationalism: the idea that the world is divided into nations that provide the overriding focus of political identity and loyalty. Nationalist sentiment and loyalty leads to the demand for national self-determination. Two basic types of Nationalism: a) Civic Nationalism: a loyalty to the state based on common citizenship regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, or language. Citizens are united in their embrace of political traditions, practices, and a political culture. b) Ethnonationalism: loyalty to a specific ethnic community (rather than the state), such as a racial, linguistic, or religious community. The desire for an ethnic community to have absolute authority over its own affairs. Robert Cooper’s Typology of States (2000) To understand foreign policy patterns, Cooper argues that we should distinguish between three different kinds of states: 1. Premodern States: A state in which the primary identity of citizens or subjects is to national, religious, or ethnic communities. Less loyalty to the state. These are usually very weak states, either fragile or failed. Their institutions are unstable and ineffective. Civil war, human rights abuses, terrorism incubation, violence, coups… They have minimal or non-existent foreign policies, except for relations with states that provide them with aid. *Can you think of any contemporary examples of a premodern state? Explain your choice. Cooper’s Typology of States 2. Modern States: Traditional nation-states with control over their territory and the ability to protect their citizens and provide key services. Citizens identify with the state and see it as legitimate. Nationalism tends to be high. Their foreign policies tend to focus on economic interests and the desire to become a major power in their region. *Can you think of any contemporary examples of a Modern State? Cooper’s Typology of States 3. Postmodern sates: These states make up the liberal Western world. Eg. The U.S., Canada, and European states. They are political units where citizens are less nationalistic and more cosmopolitan in their outlook on domestic and foreign policy. These states are linked with other states in arrangements at the regional and global levels. They are multilateralists who build linkages. Eg. the EU develops common foreign policy positions, and most Postmodern states depend on NATO for their Discussion Question What kind of state is North Korea? Premodern, Modern, or Postmodern? Explain. Case Study: China and Canada Cooper characterizes China as a Modern State and Canada as a Postmodern State. What does this mean? What do you think makes China a Modern State?  China Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi Core Foreign Policy Interests: 1. Maintaining the power of the Communist Party. 2. China’s economic and social growth 3. The preservation of China’s sovereignty and territory. *The principle of non-interventionism/sovereignty. Eg. China considers Tawain part of its sovereign territory. Claims to the South China Sea. *Has developed a confrontational/combative style of diplomacy, which is critical of the West. *Creating a new framework for international politics or simply expanding its foreign network of relations? Canada Citizens are less nationalistic and more cosmopolitan with regards to domestic and foreign policy. Liberal multiculturalism as the dominant domestic ideology. Multilateralism: working with others to support a rules-based international system, sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and achieving common global goals. Global Affairs Canada: https://www.international.gc.ca/transparen cy-transparence/departmental-plan- Canada’s Foreign ministeriel/2023-2024.aspx?lang=eng#a3 Minister, Melanie Joly 6 Categories of National Interests A State’s national interests tend to fall into the following 6 categories: 1. Security: survival, maintaining independence, protecting territory. 2. Economic Welfare: Economic well being, market stability. 3. Prestige: status, image. 4. Promoting Values and Political Ideology 5. Expanding Territory or control over Resources: increasing power 6. Seeking Peace and Stability: maintaining the world Who Makes Foreign Policy The state does not make foreign policy; individuals who represent the state do. Foreign Ministers like Joly and Yi, The Secretary of State in the U.S., Ministers of Trade and Defense. Members of the Executive Branch or the Prime Minister’s Cabinet typically initiate foreign policy decisions. They work through the legislature to formulate the policy. Then Government agencies implement policy decisions, often with the help of the private sector (eg. Think Tanks, NGOs, banks, etc.). Explaining Foreign Policy Decisions Why do certain states make the decisions they do? The Levels of Analysis Approach is used to generate plausible explanations for foreign policy behavior. Four Levels: 1. Individual Factors: the human dimension. 2. Domestic Factors: national attributes 3. Systemic Factors: the nature of the international system 4. Global/Transnational: global conditions and influences Levels of Analysis 1. Individual Factors: We look at leaders/decision-makers and their beliefs, attributes, personality, and perception/worldview. There is an assumption that leaders are rational actors that aim to maximize benefits and minimize costs. Yet, to act rationally, leaders need to know all of their options and have complete information to make a rational decision. In reality, decision-makers operate in an environment of uncertainty and imperfect information. Leaders often go with their gut and filter information through their worldview. Levels of Analysis 2. Domestic Factors: The country’s history, traditions, as well as its political, economic, cultural, and social structures. Regime type: what type of regime is it? What type of economic system? Geographic/regional factors? What are the dominant/ruling narratives that inform policy? 3. Systemic Factors: The anarchic nature of the international system. What is the distribution of power: unipolar, bipolar, multipolar? How do we cope with this distribution of power? A Realist approach? Liberal? Levels of Analysis 4. Global Factors: Think about transnational issues such as global pandemics, natural disasters, environmental challenges like Climate Change and pollution, and the advancement of global technology, digital networks and social media. The point is that these global factors, whether human caused or not, have big effects on policy-makers. Case Study: India’s Foreign Policy Individual Factors: Modi and foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankaris , are part of a newer nationalistic elite. Domestic Factors: National traditions and ruling narratives; despite having a secular constitution and 20% non-Hindu population, the government is moving in the direction of a domestic and foreign policy rooted in ethnonationalism: A Hinduisation of foreign policy. (India’s secular, Islamic, Christian, and Liberal traditions omitted) This is what India’s foreign minister has said in a new book: India must base its foreign policy on its culture, heritage and traditions. But what does this actually mean? Is it just another brand of realism? Two paths: Movement of domestic policy towards illiberalism, towards an autocratic rule? Or the reinvigoration of Indian democracy? Systemic: Navigating the anarchic nature of the international system, strategically and carefully. Refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but also drew closer to the West and the U.S. Global: Climate Change, The Internet/Social Media, The Pandemic, etc. The Foreign Policy Process The nuts and bolts of how foreign policy comes about. In most democratic states, the same process is used to make foreign policy. Eg. responsibility for policy is divided between the executive branch (which carries out policies) and the legislative branch (which oversees the executive) Even authoritarian and totalitarian states have a process where ministers debate and discuss issues and promote specific policy positions. Leaders rarely act alone. The Foreign Policy Process Phase One: Initiation or Articulation: the process begins with the public emergence of issues: media, interest groups, social movements, etc. Phase Two: Formulation: Policy debates arise and parliaments, executives, ministries, and agencies begin to develop policy. The creation of an official government policy takes place. Phase Three: Implementation: Once a policy is decided in a ministry, legislature, or department, it is assigned to an actor to implement it. Phase Four: Evaluation: Was the policy a success or failure? The media plays a key role here. Public hearings. Hard and Soft Power: Policy Strategies Different kinds of foreign policy methods 1. Hard Power: the threat and use of military force in order to persuade or deter states. Sanctions are also a form of hard power. Any form of threat or coercion. 2. Soft Power: the ability to shape the preferences of others. Soft power aims to convince or coopt people and countries. It is attractive. Eg. If a country’s culture and values are attractive to others, this can be a source of power. Eg. democracy, respect for human rights, moral standing on the global stage, etc. Group Activity Lets Get into our UN Simulation Groups! *The task is simple: *Get chatting with each other and use your laptops and phones to learn a bit about the foreign policy priorities of your state: What type of state are you? What are the foreign policy priorities of your state? *If you are not a state, this is even more interesting: who are you? What are your global political priorities? Midterm Preparation Date: During class, 2:30- 4:30PM, on Tuesday, Oct.22nd. Duration: 2 Hours. Format: 20 Multiple Choice Questions & 2 Short Essay Questions Rules: Closed-Book; No phones present whatsoever; all bags, coats, etc. at the back of the room; bring a pen. Coverage: Chapters 1-4 in the textbook. Midterm Preparation Preparing for the two essay questions: *One question will focus on Realism, Liberalism and Critical Theories (Chapter 3). *The other question will have to do with either The Evolution of Global Politics (Chapter 2) or Foreign Policy (Chapter 4).