Suchergebnisse

"Mexican Foreign Policy" published on by Oxford University Press.

Explores whether public opinion actually influences US foreign policy. Research has shown that policymakers sometimes make decisions based on misperceptions of public opinion. A research project was conducted to link US foreign policy in the 1990s with public opinion trends. Such policies as the disengagement from foreign affairs, closing US embassies, cutting foreign aid, failing to pay UN dues, & resisting cooperation in peacekeeping operations, while keeping defense spending high was thought to be the result of public opinion. Eighty-three members of the foreign policy community, including members of Congress & executive-branch officials, journalists, & members of nongovernmental organizations, were interviewed concerning their perceptions of public attitudes concerning the US role in foreign affairs. Existing polling data were then reviewed to determine whether policymakers had correctly understood public opinion. A substantial gap in perception & reality was discovered. The book, Misreading the Public: The Myth of a New Isolationism (Kull & Destler 1999) gives a thorough analysis of this study. L. A. Hoffman

Applying the research in this volume, this article explores the relationship between the post-Cold War media coverage of foreign affairs, the formation of public opinion, & its influence on the state. The author strives to create a general theory & to point out directions for future theory development & research. Research in this volume highlights the tensions between theoretical generalizations & the complexity, differentiation, & explanatory completeness of research. L. A. Hoffman

Explores Italian public opinion concerning foreign policy, its nature, its fluctuation since the end of the Cold War, & its influence on Italian foreign policy making. A common conception of Italian public opinion regarding foreign affairs is that it is somewhat disinterested, moody, & volatile. This study examines public opinion during the Cold War & then looks at the consequences of the post-Cold War international system on Italian public opinion. The relationship between public opinion & foreign policy during the 1990s is studied in light of the multiparty Italian system. A study of 1,500 questions asked between 1952 & 1993 on foreign policy issues found that, contrary to the dominant opinion, Italian public opinion is stable. It was also found that public opinion is a significant factor in Italian foreign policy making. At the end of the Cold War, Italian public opinion also experienced a domestic depolarization. Foreign policy became more assertive & autonomous, yet growing internationalization has made the more fragmented decision-making system dysfunctional. 1 Table, 3 Figures. L. A. Hoffman

Examines the changing relationship between public opinion & the foreign & defense policy-making process followed by US presidents. Recent research reveals that important changes in American politics have occurred in the post-Cold War era. As polling & public opinion analysis from the White House has become institutionalized, presidents have responded to or worked with public opinion to a higher degree. Although this would point to more responsiveness to public opinion, the winding down of the Cold War & changes in press coverage of foreign affairs have allowed presidents to both manipulate & lead public opinion. A study of policy making during the Ronald Reagan administration found that public opinion had little affect on foreign policy decisions, but knowledge of pubic opinion did protect Reagan from conducting major public campaigns that would emphasize his distance from public views. More research is required to understand the interactions between public opinion & policy making & the resulting implications for democracy. 3 Tables, 1 Figure. L. A. Hoffman

"Ethnic Lobbying in Foreign Policy" published on by Oxford University Press.

This chapter discusses the broader theoretical and empirical context of European foreign policy. The argument advanced here integrates the policy conduct of key member states as well as that of the Brussels-based institutions. It is guided by the assessment of Gammelin and Löw (2014, 266-7; author's translation) appropriate for the best part of the post-Cold War period: 'the last word in foreign policy still rests with the nation states' and 'what exactly one should understand by joint foreign policy is only vaguely defined'. The focus of the chapter concerns various EU policies such as the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and, most recently, the policy of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). It is argued that the integration process has not been able to overcome the self-interested behaviour of EU member states in an international system showing clear signs of increasing multipolarity.

"Anhand dreier Fallbeispiele - der Irankrise, Chinas Energiehunger und seiner Energieaußenpolitik im Mittleren Osten und Afrika sowie der beunruhigenden innenpolitischen Trends in Russland und dem Selbstverständnis des Kreml als einer zukünftigen Energiesupermacht - werden die Auswirkungen der globalen Trends der internationalen Energiesicherheit und der zukünftigen Bedeutung der geopolitischen Risikofaktoren für die europäische und deutsche Energie- und Außenpolitik untersucht. Dabei werden drei Fragen diskutiert: (1) Ist eine nationale Energiepolitik auch zukünftig für die EU-Mitgliedsstaaten ausreichend? (2) Brauchen wir eine nationale und/oder europäische Energieaußenpolitik? (3) Inwieweit ist ein angestrebter liberalisierter Energie- und insbesondere Gasmarkt der EU realistisch und kompatibel mit einer immer größer werdenden Abhängigkeit der EU und Deutschlands von Gasimporten aus Russland?" (Autorenreferat)