Foreign Policy – A Working Definition

1. Foreign Policy – A Working Definition Foreign policy is concerned with the official conduct of states exercising their sovereign authority in the international arena and acting in pursuit of their national interests.

2. Understanding Foreign Policy • As a product • statements and actions • As a process • agenda setting • prioritizing • decision-making • implementation • feedback • As relationships • bilateral • multilateral

3. Some Myths and Misconceptions • Sovereignty is absolute • The state is a unitary actor • Foreign policy “stops at the water’s edge” • “Rationality” rules • The universe of choices is boundless • Power is fungible • Consistency is paramount

4. Ideas, Images and Belief Systems • Recurring tension • Wilsonian Idealism • Realism • Beyond “pigeon-holing” • Competing impulses – • between and within institutions • across political party lines • Variation across policy spectrum • Pendulum swings over time

5. Interactive Policy Environments Domestic International

6. National Power Foreign Policy Tools

7. Promoting National Security

8. Policy Dilemmas and Contradictions • strategic allies old/new are not always democrats • changing perceptions without changing policies might not be possible • unilateral action in one area might compromise ability to secure vital support in another