FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW

In: International studies quarterly: the journal of the International Studies Association, Volume 39, Issue SUPP 2, p. 209-238

Abstract

THE SHOCK OF THE END OF THE COLD WAR AND THE APPARENT INABILITY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (IR) THEORY TO PREDICT THIS PROFOUND CHANGE HAVE RAISED QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW SCHOLARS SHOULD GO ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD OF TODAY. THE INHERITED TOOLS AND WAYS OF DESCRIBING THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA DO NOT SEEM TO WORK AS WELL AS THEY ONCE DID. TO EXPLAIN AND PREDICT THE BEHAVIOR OF NATION-STATES, IR THEORY REQUIRES A THEORY OF HUMAN POLITICAL CHOICE. WITHIN THE STUDY OF IR, FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS (FPA) HAS BEGUN TO DEVELOP SUCH A THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE. FROM ITS INCEPTION, FPA HAS INVOLVED THE EXAMINATION OF HOW FOREIGN POLICY DECISIONS ARE MADE AND HAS ASSUMED THAT HUMAN BEINGS, ACTING INDIVIDUALLY OR IN COLLECTIVITIES, ARE THE SOURCE OF MUCH BEHAVIOR AND MOST CHANGE IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS. THIS ESSAY REVIEWS THE FIELD OF FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS, EXAMINING ITS RESEARCH CORE AND ITS EVOLUTION TO DATE. THE OVERVIEW ALSO LOOKS FORWARD, POINTING TO THE FUTURE, NOT ONLY OF FPA ITSELF, BUT TO THE IMPLICATIONS THAT FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN FPA MAY HAVE FOR THE STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS.