Reagan and the Pax Afrikaana

A Frequent error in foreign policy analysis is to allow government to set the agenda of inquiry. Officials invariably define the terrain too narrowly. Their concerns are short term, not only because of the immediacy of problems stalking policy-makers, but also because averting fundamental questions about the social forces that shape the day-to-day agenda of government redounds to the advantage of those who control state power. Consequently, the task of the analyst is to overcome the inhibiting parameters of public discourse. Without trivialising matters of practical politics, the analyst must transpose prefabricated questions into more productive lines of inquiry.

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A Abordagem Relacional-Estratégica (Sra) E A Análise De Política Externa (Brasileira) Nos Governos Lula (2003-2010)

Revista Neiba, Cadernos Argentina Brasil ◽

10.12957/neiba.2020.50559 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Solange Pastrana de Góes

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Policy Analysis ◽

Social Forces ◽

Foreign Policy Analysis ◽

Relational Approach ◽

Theoretical Perspectives ◽

Policy Analysts ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

Temporal Horizon ◽

The Relationship

O presente trabalho busca explorar a possibilidade de utilização da abordagem relacional-estratégica, Stratetegic-Relational Approach (SRA), desenvolvida pelo neomarxista inglês Bob Jessop, para análise das continuidades e descontinuidades nos projetos de inserção internacional do Brasil no governo Lula (2003-2010). Muitos analistas da política externa brasileira utilizam-se de perspectivas teóricas pertencentes à Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) para abrir a caixa preta do Estado e debruçar-se, em particular, sobre o processo decisório no interior da burocracia estatal. Entretanto, pouco se discute sobre as origens espaço-temporais da relação entre elementos estruturais e estratégias seletivas inscritas nas decisões de política externa. Nesse sentido, entende-se que a compreensão da política externa brasileira, em toda a sua complexidade, deve ser feita por meio da análise do entrelaçamento entre as forças sociais e os contextos estratégicos, que modificam identidades e interesses.Palavras-chave: FPA, Política Externa Brasileira, SRA. ABSTRACTThis work seeks to explore the possibility of using the Stratetegic-Relational Approach (SRA), developed by the English neo-Marxist Bob Jessop, to analyze the continuities and discontinuities in Brazil's international insertion projects under the Lula government (2003-2010). Many Brazilian foreign policy analysts use theoretical perspectives belonging to Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) to open the black box of the State and address, in particular, the decision-making process within its bureaucracy. However, little is discussed about the ‘spatio-temporal’ horizon of the relationship between the strategic structure and the strategic selectivities inscribed in foreign policy decisions. Therefore, Brazilian foreign policy, in all its complexity, must be understood through the analysis of the intertwining between social forces and strategic contexts, which changes identities and interests. Keywords: FPA, Brazilian Foreign Policy, SRA.

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Theory of Irrational Politics: Classical Realist Lessons on Foreign Policy Analysis

International Studies Review ◽

10.1093/isr/viaa095 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Harald Edinger

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Policy Analysis ◽

Historical Analysis ◽

Foreign Policy Analysis ◽

Social Unit ◽

The Social ◽

Classical Realism ◽

The Individual ◽

Hans Morgenthau ◽

Theoretical Paradigms

Abstract This article argues that efforts to strengthen the theoretical foundations for foreign policy analysis (FPA) should take as a vantage point the smallest social unit—the human being. It advocates far-reaching engagement with psychology and the life sciences for insights on the individual in the social context. Research on emotion, as a general human phenomenon and one that has been extensively researched across disciplines, is thought to offer a particularly promising conceptual lens on foreign policy. For cues on how to incorporate scientific findings with historical analysis and situate resulting hypotheses in relation to prevailing theoretical paradigms, the article draws on classical realism. Especially mid-twentieth century realists such as Hans Morgenthau expressed a nuanced conception of human agency and the interplay between emotion and cognition. Substantial aspects of their theories, based largely on experience and intuition, have been corroborated by recent scientific research. This review is structured around four central issues. These have been both the loci of much criticism levelled at classical realism and remain a challenge to IR as a whole: the levels of analysis problem, the “scaling up” of emotion, the classification and choice of emotion(s), and the accessibility of the political world to scientific method.

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Sentencing Policy as a Force for Social Cohesion

10.1093/oso/9780198718895.003.0003 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Ralph Henham

Keyword(s):

Social Cohesion ◽

Policy Making ◽

Social Values ◽

Social Reality ◽

Social Forces ◽

Top Down ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Normative Approach ◽

The Social ◽

Sentencing Policy

This chapter sets out the case for adopting a normative approach to conceptualizing the social reality of sentencing. It argues that policy-makers need to comprehend how sentencing is implicated in realizing state values and take greater account of the social forces that diminish the moral credibility of state sponsored punishment. The chapter reflects on the problems of relating social values to legal processes such as sentencing and argues that crude notions of ‘top down’ or ‘bottom up’ approaches to policy-making should be replaced by a process of contextualized policy-making. Finally, the chapter stresses the need for sentencing policy to reflect those moral attachments that bind citizens together in a relational or communitarian sense. It concludes by exploring these assertions in the light of the sentencing approach taken by the courts following the English riots of 2011.

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