scholarly journals Austria and the Global Compact on Migration: the ‘populist securitization’ of foreign policy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Muller ◽  
Charlott Gebauer
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
Global Compact ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
People's Party ◽  
The Public ◽  
Active Interest ◽  
Securitization Theory

AbstractBridging arguments between securitization theory and populist communication, this article shifts attention to the strategy of ‘populist securitization’. It argues that populist parties may seek to ‘securitize’ international political issues for the purpose of domestic political mobilization. Empirically, it demonstrates the relevance of populist securitization for the case of Austria’s foreign policy on the Global Compact on Migration during the coalition government (2017–2019) between the populist radical right Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP). The case study of the GCM elucidates the active interest populist parties like the FPÖ take in shaping foreign policy decisions that are close to their domestic political agenda. If successful, populist securitization can have a profound and sustained impact on the public perceptions of foreign policy issues and can create a sense of urgency about the need for an appropriate foreign policy response. In doing so, foreign policy becomes part of the game of domestic politics that can affect foreign policy decisions.

scholarly journals PUBLIC SECTOR INSTITUTIONS OF FOREIGN POLICY EXPERTISE IN UKRAINE:AN ANALYTICAL OVERVIEW

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 340-359
Author(s):  
Oleg Onopko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Structural Damage ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Think Tanks ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
The Public ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Political Mythology

An important condition for the effective protection and implementation by Russia of its national interests in Ukraine is an understanding of the circle of actors that influence the development of Ukrainian foreign policy. Among them, there are expert institutions that provide analytical and scientific support for foreign policy decisions made by the highest bodies of state power. For- eign policy expertise in Ukraine is a grey area for Russian political science. The article opens a series of publications whose purpose is to solve this problem. It systematizes information about Ukrainian institutes of foreign policy expertise, those whose activities are directly or indirectly financed by the state. It was revealed that during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych (2010– 2014), the public sector suffered significant structural damage, and its consequences have not yet been overcome. Today, Ukrainian public institutions of foreign policy expertise include: the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the Institute of World History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and university think tanks. The author considers these organizations through the prism of constructivism and institutionalism — as political structures (institutions) whose activities affect the context of Ukrainian foreign policy and the behavior of its actors. It has been established that their main scientific and applied research interests are related to problems of national, regional and international security, Russian domestic politics, problems of information, as well as military and political confrontation with Russia. All these issues are considered by institutions exclusively through the prism of Euro-Atlanticism and anti-Russian political mythology. Since at least 2014, they have been transmitting ideas hostile to Russia to the Ukrainian political and academic elite. In the same vein, the political socialization of students is carried out, in which university think tanks actively work in close collaboration with state and non-governmental organizations of NATO member countries. Today, the public sector of foreign policy expertise in Ukraine is not in the best condition, but it invariably retains its analytical and scientific potential, as well as its tough anti-Russian position.

Mongolia's new president may push nationalistic policy

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Content Type ◽  
People's Party ◽  
The Public

Subject The recent presidential election in Mongolia. Significance With the victory of Khaltmaa Battulga in the presidential election on July 7, the Democratic Party (DP) has held onto the presidency. The legislature and cabinet remain in the hands of the rival Mongolian People’s Party (MPP). The election of an MPP president would have signalled continuity and stability; a Battulga win introduces uncertainty. Impacts Battulga may push to scale back austerity and provide the public with more immediate benefits from the resources sector. Despite the anti-Chinese sentiment evident during Battulga's election campaign, he is more likely to be pragmatic than confrontational. Battulga may use the presidency's foreign policy powers to reach out to Russia.

scholarly journals Turkey’s Volte-Face Politics: Understanding the AKP’s Securitization Policy toward the Syrian Conflict

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Aghaie Joobani ◽  
Umut Can Adısönmez
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Security Architecture ◽  
Arab Uprisings ◽  
The Us ◽  
Securitization Theory ◽  
The Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Military Engagement ◽  
Syrian Conflict

Throughout its Republican history, Turkey has attempted to formulate a “non-interventionist” foreign policy toward its neighbouring countries. Since the onset of the Arab Uprisings, however, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has abjured the traditional policy of “non-military engagement”, adopting instead an assertive and security-oriented foreign policy that has paved the way for the securitization of the Syrian conflict in terms of its Kurdish component and of wider geopolitical aspects. This article aims to explore why and in what ways this abrupt shift toward securitization has occurred while discussing its broader implications on Turkish domestic politics as well. Using the Copenhagen School’s securitization theory, the article will unpack and analyse the internal and external dimensions of threat construction and otherization processes underlying Ankara’s securitization policy toward Syria to make the case for the obsolescence of Turkey’s traditional non-interventionist policy, which, we argue, results from an ontological insecurity approach toward the Syrian conflict. The article finds that Turkey’s securitization policy (i.e. interventionist approach) was chiefly driven by the fear of Kurdish autonomy and the growing Russo-Assad-Iranian alliance in Syria; and by the grand ambition of bringing the Muslim Brotherhood into power in Syria and consolidating Turkey’s agential importance in Western security architecture under the aegis of the US.  

War and Democratic Constraint

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Baum ◽  
Philip B. K. Potter
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
International Conflicts ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Institutions ◽  
The Media ◽  
Better Than

Why do some democracies reflect their citizens' foreign policy preferences better than others? What roles do the media, political parties, and the electoral system play in a democracy's decision to join or avoid a war? This book shows that the key to how a government determines foreign policy rests on the transmission and availability of information. Citizens successfully hold their democratic governments accountable and a distinctive foreign policy emerges when two vital institutions—a diverse and independent political opposition and a robust media—are present to make timely information accessible. The book demonstrates that there must first be a politically potent opposition that can blow the whistle when a leader missteps. This counteracts leaders' incentives to obscure and misrepresent. Second, healthy media institutions must be in place and widely accessible in order to relay information from whistle-blowers to the public. The book explores this communication mechanism during three different phases of international conflicts: when states initiate wars, when they respond to challenges from other states, or when they join preexisting groups of actors engaged in conflicts. Examining recent wars, including those in Afghanistan and Iraq, the book links domestic politics and mass media to international relations in a brand-new way.

Sex, Lies, and War: How Soft News Brings Foreign Policy to the Inattentive Public

2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
MATTHEW A. BAUM
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Consumption ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Soft News ◽  
Foreign Policy Crises ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
News Programs

This study argues that, due to selective political coverage by the entertainment-oriented, soft news media, many otherwise politically inattentive individuals are exposed to information about high-profile political issues, most prominently foreign policy crises, as an incidental by-product of seeking entertainment. I conduct a series of statistical investigations examining the relationship between individual media consumption and attentiveness to several recent high-profile foreign policy crisis issues. For purposes of comparison, I also investigate several non-foreign crisis issues, some of which possess characteristics appealing to soft news programs and others of which lack such characteristics. I find that information about foreign crises, and other issues possessing similar characteristics, presented in a soft news context, has indeed attracted the attention of politically uninvolved Americans. The net effect is a reduced disparity in attentiveness to select high-profile political issues across different segments of the public.

Foreign Policy Leadership in the Global South

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Grove
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Decision Rule ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Global South ◽  
Foreign Policy Analysis ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Foreign Policies

Why do leaders make foreign policy decisions that often appear irrational or engage in major reversals of previous policy to the extent that observers wonder at their calculations? The field of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) offers multiple ways to approach questions of decision-making. Many kinds of variables are explored, in the general areas of elites, institutions, and ideas. The focus on leadership and decision-making is especially rich for comparative purposes, because it is open to specification of different contexts within which leaders operate. The poliheuristic theory (PH) and other work emphasizing the importance of the domestic context have provided explanatory power about the factors affecting leader decision-making. Extensive application of PH has shown that decisions about foreign policy are often made according to a noncompensatory principle (the acceptability heuristic): Leaders use a shortcut in which options that threaten their political position are ruled out. Generally, the metric is about domestic politics—an option has to leave the leader in a good position with his or her domestic audience. But much of FPA work has been based largely on case studies of Western or other developed states, or at least not approached in the context of non-Western or Global South states theoretically—in a way that recognizes it as governed by generalizable principles different from the Western context. What we know from scholars of Global South politics is that in fact the considerations of non-Western leaders can be quite distinct. They focus more on regime security than the Western notion of national security. We must question whether position in domestic politics is the primary noncompensatory guide. Further, threats to that security come from both inside and outside the state’s borders and encompass economic concerns too, not only military calculations. In order to comprehend foreign policies around the globe, frameworks have to take into account how leaders conduct “intermestic” policy (where lines are blurred between the international and domestic). For these states, the models for intermestic policymaking differ from Western models. The analyst needs to understand two aspects: the threats the regime faces and the constituencies the leader sees as crucial to sustaining survival and controlling those threats. Analysis of how a leader uses a “framing threat” strategy and a “broadening audience” strategy can be used as tools to indicate the two criteria (threats the regime faces; internal/societal groups and external constituencies). By focusing on the analysis of the intermestic uses of threat, we gain insight into the most crucial priorities for the decision-maker and thus how the noncompensatory decision rule is applied. “Acceptable” policies must address these threats. Second, examining how a leader uses the broadening audience strategy shows us on which constituencies the leader calls as supporters and provides an indication of how the noncompensatory decision rule is applied. Indeed, we cannot only ask if the leader has legitimacy; we must answer the query, “legitimate to whom?” These audiences often cross borders. Integration of several FPA perspectives with work by Global South scholars provides a rich framework that sheds light on previously “puzzling” foreign policy decisions. If we keep domestic and foreign policy separate in our models, we are missing a key dimension of LDC politics: Underdevelopment of regime security and the legitimacy that helps provide it are tied to interests and identities that are transnational in nature.

The “Peace Ballot” and the “Rainbow” Controversy

1981 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
League Of Nations ◽  
The Political ◽  
British Politics ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
Public Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Assessments of the famous “Peace Ballot,” officially “A National Declaration on the League of Nations and Armaments,” have undergone little change since its results were announced in June 1935. Like contemporary observers, historians are unclear on the origins of the ballot, are impressed by the public response, and are uncertain of the meaning of “the most remarkable popular referendum ever initiated and carried through by private enterprise.” Historians will probably never reach a consensus on the exact meaning of the ballot and are likely to go on echoing the diverse judgments of contemporaries. But the origins of the referendum are not obscure, and in The Impact of Hitler: British Politics and British Policy 1933-1940 Maurice Cowling has offered a stimulating thesis that could embrace the ballot and suggest a new evaluation of the political controversy that surrounded the preparation and conduct of that much-heralded “National Declaration.”Cowling has persuasively argued that foreign policy was the form party conflict took in Great Britain in the late 1930s. Politicians conducted it in the light of party considerations. Cowling selected 1935 as the year foreign policy first became “central,” when Abyssinia became the focus of all political discussions. And it was the issue through which Stanley Baldwin reestablished Conservative “centrality” in domestic politics after strong “swings” against the government in by-elections during 1933 and 1934.According to the Cowling thesis, in the class-polarized politics of the 1930s, party leaders had to be especially sensitive to the opinion of the center, which, in 1935, meant presenting policy in terms that the League of Nations Union and its largely Liberal constituency would approve.

Commitment to NATO and Domestic Politics: the Italian Case and Some Comparative

1998 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leopoldo Nuti
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
Active Player ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Italian Government ◽  
Italian Politics

This article tries to outline the relevance of NATO for domestic Italian politics by looking both at some of the important foreign policy decisions that the Italian government took in relation to the Alliance, and at the role that NATO may have had as an active player in Italian politics.

US Presidential Elections and Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Presidential Candidates ◽  
The Public ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way

This book explores the relationship between American presidential elections and US foreign policy. It argues that analysis of this relationship is currently underdeveloped (indeed, largely ignored) in the academic literature and among historians in particular and is part of a broader negligence of the influence of US politics and the public on foreign policy. It is usually taken as being axiomatic that domestic factors, especially the economy, are the most influential when people enter the voting booth. This may often be the case, but foreign policy undoubtedly also plays an important part for some people, and, crucially, it is seen to do so by presidential candidates and their advisers. Therefore, while foreign policy issues influence some voters in the way they choose to vote, the perception that voters care about certain foreign policy issues can also have a profound effect on the way in which presidents craft their foreign policies. Although we agree with those scholars who argue that it is difficult to discern the impact of domestic politics on foreign policy making, this complex relationship is one that, we feel, requires further exploration. This collection therefore seeks to understand the relative importance of US foreign policy on domestic elections and electoral positions and the impact of electoral issues on the formation of foreign policy.

Domestic Political Incentives, Congressional Support, and U.S. Mediation

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-366
Author(s):  
James P. Todhunter
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Policy Options ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
Political Incentives ◽  
Policy Decision Making ◽  
Mediation Processes

Abstract Powerful states have numerous resources that can be mobilized in mediation processes. However, evidence suggests that such states are not more likely to be successful than other mediators. This article examines U.S. mediations through the lens of foreign policy decision making and argues that leaders make foreign policy decisions primarily with their domestic consequences in mind. Further, it contends that presidential administrations seek to build a record of success in order to improve their domestic political fortunes based on the policy options available to them. The study tests two explanations of foreign policy substitution based on domestic conditions and institutional configurations, the “party cover” and “policy availability” arguments, for U.S. mediations from 1945–1999. Results for the party cover argument are more robust, suggesting that domestic conditions play an important role in the decision to engage in mediation and imply that successful mediation is secondary to domestic politics.

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