scholarly journals Southern Africa States’ Foreign Policy: the Case of Namibia and Zimbabwe

2018 ◽  
pp. 29-34
Author(s):  
Martha Shimuleni
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
Goal Attainment ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
African Countries ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Strong Ties ◽  
The Core ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Global North

Foreign policy articulates and gears the process of pursuit of national interests. The research aims at looking into the diverse foreign policies of various states in the Southern region of Africa. It brings out the nature of Namibia and Zimbabwe interaction with other countries in Europe, America, Asia (China in particular) and even other African countries through what is being induced in their respective foreign policy agenda. African countries, belonging to the «global south» are characterized with under development due to long experience of war which renders them dependent on the «core» or «global north» for co-operation and interaction. A country’s foreign policy is peculiar to it, as it represents the interests of a country which is usually distinctive in nature. It is safe to say that foreign policy can be likened to an organizational set of objectives. Basically, an organizational set of objectives entails the processes of goal attainment. Based on this, foreign policy is an agenda that enlists national interests, and ways to attaining them. It is noteworthy that Zimbabwe and Namibia hold strong ties with their colonial masters. Both countries have strong foreign relations with the country that colonized them far more than with other countries. Zimbabwe has got strong ties with Britain and Namibia has got strong ties with Germany. Over the years, the efficiency of Zimbabwe and Namibia foreign policy has been undermined by conflict. The study reveals the development in Namibia and Zimbabwe is attributed to their relations with other countries of the world. Mainly, in the areas of finding market for locally made products and in the aspects of attracting foreign investors. A major issue that jets itself into the foreign policy agenda of both of these countries is the issue of security both domestically and internationally. However, the reason is no foreign policy can be successful in area of chaos, unrest and hunger. A potent foreign policy is that which is flexible, versatile and serves the interest of all, the formulation of policies based on these criteria will ensure efficiency and ultimately development.

Foreign Policy Analysis: Origins (1954–93) and Contestations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Hudson
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
Human Life ◽  
National Level ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Foreign Policy Analysis ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Foreign Policies

A country’s foreign policy, also called its foreign relations, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve goals within its international relations (IR) milieu. The study of such strategic plans is called foreign policy analysis (FPA). The inception of foreign relations in human affairs and the need for foreign policy to deal with them is as old as the organization of human life in groups. In the twentieth century, due to global wars, international relations became a public concern as well as an important field of study and research. Gradually, various theories began to grow around international relations, international systems, and international politics, but the need for a theory of foreign policy continued to be neglected. The reason was that states used to keep their foreign policies under official secrecy and it was not considered appropriate for the public, as it is today, to know about these policies. However, although foreign policy formulation continued to remain a closely guarded process at the national level, wider access to governmental records and greater public interest provided more data for researchers to work on and, eventually, place international relations in a structured framework of political science.

Sub-state actors and foreign policy risk-taking: The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-369
Author(s):  
David Romano
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
External Environment ◽  
Regional Government ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Policy Risk

The analysis presented here offers a possible framework for understanding when sub-state actors behave prudently and more strategically in their foreign relations, and when other priorities might instead heighten the chances of seemingly irrational, erratic, or dangerous, foreign policies. Using a case study of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq to illustrate the argument, the author attempts to show how “regime consolidation” plays a key role in allowing such actors to prioritise policies aimed at grappling with external challenges, threats and opportunities. Internally legitimate, consolidated regimes can better present “one face” to the outside world and behave more strategically in the international arena.  Political systems lacking consolidation or internal legitimacy, in contrast, turn to the external environment in search of resources to help them with domestic threats and challenges. This may lead to seemingly erratic, unpredictable and risky foreign policies on their part. Abstract in Kurmanji Aktorên bin-dewletî û girtina rîskên siyaseta derve: Hikûmeta Herêma Kurdistanê ya Iraqê Analîza ku li vir hatiye pêşkêşkirin çarçoveyeke muhtemel ji bo fehmkirina demên ku aktorên bin-dewletî di têkiliyên xwe yên derve de bi hişyarî û stratejîk tevdigerin û demên di dewsê de pêşkiyên din şansên siyaseta derve yên xeternak, guherbar û îrrasyonel didine ber xwe. Bi bikaranîna mînaka Hikûmeta Herêma Kurdistanê ya Iraqê nivîskar hewl dide ku nîşan bide ka çawa “xurtkirina rejîmê” roleke serekî dilîze di destûrdana van aktoran de ku pêşekiyê bidin polîtîkayên ku bi dijwarî, tehdît û talûkeyên derve bigre. Rejîmên di hundir de meşrû û xurt dikarin baştir “rûyekî” nîşanê cîhana derve bidin û di qada navneteweyî de bêhtir stratejîk tevbigerin. Lê belê sîstemên siyasî yên ne xurt û di hundir de ne meşrû jî berê xwe didin derdora derve di lêgerîna çavkaniyan de da ku alîkariya wan bikin ji bo talûke û zehmetiyên hundirîn. Ev dikare bibe sedem ku ew polîtîkayên derveyî yên birîsk, netexmînbar û hevnegir ên berçav bigrin ji aliyê xwe ve. Abstract in Sorani Ektere dewllete lawekeyyekan û xoleqerey metrisî danî syasetî derewe: hkumetî herêmî kurdistanî ‘êrraq Ew şîkaryaney lêreda amadekrawn , çwarçêweyekî guncaw pêşkeş dekat bo têgeyiştin lewey le katêkda ektere dewllete lawekîyekan beşêweyekî wiryayane û sitratîjyanetir le peywendîyekanî derewey xoyanda hellsukewt deken, we katêkîş ewlewîyetekanî tir renge şansî ewey le rukeşda wek syasetî derekî na'eqllanî, namo, yan trisnak derdekewêt berizbkatewe. Hkumetî herêmî kurdistanî 'êraq wek keysî twêjînewe bekarhatuwe bo rûnkirdnewey ew argumêntey ke nûser hewll dedat nîşanî bdat çon “ptewkirdnî rjêm” rollêkî serekî debînêt le rêgedan bew core ekterane bo ewey ew syasetane bkate ewlewîyet ke amanc lêy berberekanêy allingarîy û hereşe û derfete drekîyekane. Ew rjêmaney ke şer'îyetî nawxoyyan heye û çespawn baştir detwanin “yek rûîy” pîşanî dinyay derewe bken û le meydanî nêwdewlletîşda sitratîjyanetir hellsukewt bken. Bepêçewanewe, ew sîsteme syasyaney ke neçespawn û şer'îyetî nawxoyyan kurtidênêt, le gerran bedway serçawekanda rû le jîngey derekî deken bo ewey yarmetîyan bda le herreşe û allingarîye nawxoyyekan. Eme lewaneye wabkat ke ew syasete derekîyaney ke be namo, pêşbînî nekraw û metrisîdar derdekewn le terefî ewanewe bêt. Abstract in Zazaki Faîlê bindewletkî û rîskgêrîya sîyasetê teberî: Hukmatê Herêmê Kurdîstanî yê Îraqî   No analîzê tîyayî seba fehmkerdişê wextê ke faîlê bindewletkîyî têkilîyanê xo yê teberî de bitedbîr û hîna zaf stratejîk hereket kenê û wexto ke herinda ci de prîorîteyê bînî asayîş ra gore îhtîmalê polîtîkayanê teberî yê bêmantiq, bêqerar yan zî xeternakan kenê zêde, ci rê çarçewayêka potansîyele pêşkêş keno. Bi xebata nimûneyî yê Hukmatê Herêmê Kurdîstanî yê Îraqî no arguman nîşan dîyeno. Nuştox wazeno bimusno ke “konsolîdasyonê rejîmî” senî rolêko sereke gêno ke tede kerdoxanê winasîyan rê destûr dîyeno ke polîtîkayanê xo yê çareserkerdişê zehmetî, tehdîd û îmkananê teberî prîorîtîze bikerê. Eke zere de meşrû yê, rejîmê kondolîdekerdeyî eşkenê xo bi “yew rî” teber rê bimusnê û sahneya mîyanneteweyîye de hîna zaf stratejîk hereket bikerê. Heto bîn ra, sîstemê sîyasîyî ke tede konsolîdasyon yan zî meşrûîyetê zereyî çin ê, ê xo çarnenê dorûverê xo yê teberî ke seba helkerdişê tehdîd û zehmetîyanê zereyî ro çimeyan bigêre. No seba înan beno ke bibo sebebê polîtîkayanê teberî yê bêqerar, nevervînbar û rîzîkodaran.

Strategic Relationships in Post-Communist Foreign Policies

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason E. Strakes ◽  
Mikhail A. Molchanov ◽  
David J. Galbreath
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
International System ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Independent States ◽  
Strategic Relationships ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Newly Independent States

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the relationships of elite/citizen preferences and strategies—and its consequent impact on the perceived role of their countries in the greater international system—it is necessary to put an emphasis on interactions within and across contrasting areas of the formerly communist world. Until recently, the systematic investigation of foreign policy-making processes has been a relatively neglected dimension within the general domain of post-communist studies. During the mid-to-late 1990s, various scholars addressed ideological redefinition in post-communist states. Other scholars have addressed the foreign policy trajectory of the newly independent states from the perspective of governance, institutional structure, and state capacity. Among the analytic tools that have been adopted to evaluate the international activities of post-communist states in recent years is the burgeoning concept of “multi-vector” foreign policy. However, due to the vast cross-regional scope and complexity of the former Soviet region, it has become more analytically useful to identify this group of countries in terms of their location in separate and respective geographic subregions. Two regional overviews provide a synthesis of the four analytic foci: national identity, political transition, rationality, and regionalism. The first offers an assessment of the foreign policy decisions and strategies of the Baltic republics since 1990–1. The second evaluates the foreign relations between the Russian Federation and the five independent republics of Central Asia.

The Role of Congress in the History of US Foreign Relations

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clay Silver Katsky
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Legislative Authority ◽  
The Republic

While presidents have historically been the driving force behind foreign policy decision-making, Congress has used its constitutional authority to influence the process. The nation’s founders designed a system of checks and balances aimed at establishing a degree of equilibrium in foreign affairs powers. Though the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the country’s chief diplomat, Congress holds responsibility for declaring war and can also exert influence over foreign relations through its powers over taxation and appropriation, while the Senate possesses authority to approve or reject international agreements. This separation of powers compels the executive branch to work with Congress to achieve foreign policy goals, but it also sets up conflict over what policies best serve national interests and the appropriate balance between executive and legislative authority. Since the founding of the Republic, presidential power over foreign relations has accreted in fits and starts at the legislature’s expense. When core American interests have come under threat, legislators have undermined or surrendered their power by accepting presidents’ claims that defense of national interests required strong executive action. This trend peaked during the Cold War, when invocations of national security enabled the executive to amass unprecedented control over America’s foreign affairs.

scholarly journals The V4 Countries’ Foreign Policy concerning the Western Balkans

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-164
Author(s):  
Christina Griessler
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Role Theory ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Western Balkan Region ◽  
European Values ◽  
Balkan Region

Abstract This contribution explores the Visegrad Four’s (V4) foreign policy initiatives in the Western Balkans by considering each state’s interests and policies and the evolution of joint V4 objectives. My underlying hypothesis is that the foreign policy‑related behaviour of individual states is shaped by certain roles that they assume and by their national interests. This work uses role theory to explain the V4 states’ foreign policies both generally and in the specific case of the Western Balkans. The V4 have prioritised cooperation with this region, and I analyse the programmes of the last four V4 presidencies (Slovakia 2014-2015, the Czech Republic 2015-2016, Poland 2016-2017 and Hungary 2017-2018) to reveal key foreign policy objectives and explore why they were selected. At the same time, I examine the interests of each V4 country and the reasons for their joint attention to the Western Balkan region. My analysis shows that the V4 perceive themselves as supportive and constructive EU and NATO members and see their policies as reflective of European values. Moreover, they believe they should contribute to EU enlargement by sharing experiences of economic and political transformation with the Western Balkan states and serving as role models.

Taking Co-constitution Seriously: Explaining an Ambiguous US Approach to Latin America

2020 ◽  
pp. 145-170
Author(s):  
Justin O. Delacour
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Latin America ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
The Core ◽  
Western Power ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
The One ◽  
Practical Implications

The external behaviors of the preeminent Western power are much more ambiguous than mainstream IR theories predict because none of the mainstream camps have an accurate conception of the relations between Western states and their cultures. On the one hand, neorealists fail to explain how the culture of a Western power will tend to discourage the state from behaving in ways that are openly dissonant with the core symbols of its professed liberalism. On the other hand, it is fairly commonplace for Western media to facilitate their states’ casual deviations from a liberal foreign policy course by obfuscating the existence of such deviations. To solve the puzzle of a Western power’s ambiguous foreign policies, we must explore the practical implications of co-constitution, according to which state interests and cultural identities mutually shape each other and can never be fully autonomous from each other. This study conducts such an exploration in the context of U.S. policy to Latin America, particularly around the failed coup in Venezuela in 2002.

The rising security cooperation of turkey in Africa: an assessment from the military perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 17-36
Author(s):  
Alexe Kenfack Kitio
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Security Cooperation ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The Core ◽  
Black Africa ◽  
Military Presence ◽  
Strategic Cooperation ◽  
Military Perspective ◽  
The Military

In a context where many eyes focus on the security and strategic cooperation between Turkey and the official Government of Libya, Ankara's military presence in this country, as much impressive as it may seem, does not reflect their broader partnership that is gradually being established in Africa at large. It is therefore surprising to see that so far no serious mainstream analysis has captured this dimension. This research paper thus answer the question how does Turkey use the security and military approaches to give more volume to its foreign policy towards Africa? At the core of these exchanges lays a network of security and military agreements concluded with more than twenty African countries. This partnership then extends through various training programs and defense industries’ cooperation. The Turkish military facility base in Somalia, the first of its kind in “Black Africa”, also remains a perfect example of projection and military proactivity in the new grammar of Turkey's foreign policy, and an answer to traditional westerns powers in Africa despite various challenges.

Role Theory in Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marijke Breuning
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Role Theory ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Foreign Policy Analysis ◽  
Ability To Act ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Global North ◽  
Global Arena ◽  
Agent Structure

Role theory first emerged as an approach to the study of foreign policy with the seminal work of Holsti, who argued that decision makers’ conceptions of their state’s role on the world stage influenced that state’s foreign policy behavior. Holsti’s approach was ahead of its time. The potential of role theory to contribute to the agent-structure debate has not always been appreciated. In fact, early research employing role theory often maintained a close connection to structural theories of international relations, especially among U.S.-based scholars. In the last decade or so, there has been a renewed interest in role theory that differs from earlier work in that it more clearly connects with psychological approaches to foreign policy analysis. It also takes more seriously the domestic sources of role theory through inquiry into horizontal and vertical role contestation. Much of this new work intersects with constructivism, although it remains grounded in empiricism. As foreign policy analysis increasingly seeks to understand the foreign policies of a broader array of states—including smaller states that face significant constraints on their ability to act in the international arena—role theory provides an attractive framework. Its focus on decision makers’ conceptions of their state’s role in international politics enhances the ability to make sense of the foreign policies of a wider array of states in the global arena. In essence, role theory allows foreign policy analysis to move beyond a U.S.-centric or global-north-centric field to become more broadly comparative.

Middle East Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manochehr Dorraj
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Middle East ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Regional Politics ◽  
Power Politics ◽  
The Core ◽  
Explanatory Factors ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
The Cold War

The scholarly literature on Middle Eastern foreign policies has long treated the region as a pawn in the larger game of the great powers’ international rivalry for global supremacy. During the Cold War, Middle Eastern foreign policies were seen in terms of East-West confrontation, or as a replica of Western foreign policies. Over time, more sophisticated theories of Middle Eastern foreign policy have emerged. Two of the earliest theories that were applied to the study of Middle Eastern foreign policies were diplomatic political history and psychological approaches. Some scholars argue that the behavior of Middle Eastern states is reflective of some of the basic premises of the realist theory. Others, adopting a neorealist structural approach, contend that while Middle Eastern states may use the language of Islam and Pan-Arabism, power politics still lies at the core of their foreign policy. These scholars consider the shift in the regional and the global balance of power as the major explanatory factors for understanding foreign policy changes in the Middle East. Then there are those who conceptualize Middle Eastern foreign policies primarily in terms of dependency theory, the core-periphery power relations, and a struggle for the control of the region's oil and energy. Two other approaches to the study of Middle Eastern foreign policies are international political economy and bureaucratic politics. The Palestinian–Israeli conflict has been a major polarizing issue responsible for radicalization of regional politics and foreign policies in the Middle East.

scholarly journals Ideias e Agenda da Cooperação Prestada: o Caso do Prosavana | Ideas and delivered cooperation agenda: the ProSAVANA case

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. e59050
Author(s):  
Laís Caroline Kuss
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
International Aid ◽  
Agricultural Area ◽  
Causal Beliefs ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
Leadership Position ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Brazilian Identity

Alguns fatores domésticos determinam a alocação da ajuda internacional, contribuindo com as abordagens que procuram uma interface entre o doméstico e o externo, o que não é diferente na cooperação brasileira. Neste trabalho, busca-se explorar um desses fatores, as ideias que, ao influenciarem a política externa e a cooperação prestada pelo Brasil, podem ter influenciado também a adoção do ProSAVANA na agenda da Política Externa Brasileira. Portanto, a partir de uma revisão bibliográfica e documental, depreende-se que o programa de cooperação triangular entre Brasil, Moçambique e Japão na área agrícola, assinado em 2009, sofreu influências de visões de mundo, crenças causais e normas de seu tempo. A exemplo disso, a identidade brasileira, enquanto modelo de país em desenvolvimento para os países africanos, e sua posição de liderança, buscada a nível global.Palavras-chave: ideias; cooperação internacional; política externa; ProSAVANA.ABSTRACTSome domestic factors determine the allocation of international aid, contributing to approaches that seek an interface between the domestic and the external, that is not different in Brazilian cooperation. In this research, we seek exploring one of these factors, ideas, which influencing foreign policy and cooperation provided by Brazil, may also have influenced theadoption of ProSAVANA on the Brazilian Foreign Policy agenda. Therefore, from a bibliographic and documentary review, it appears that the program, triangular cooperation between Brazil, Mozambique and Japan in the agricultural area (signed in 2009) was influenced by worldviews, causal beliefs and norms of its time, such as Brazilian identity as a model of developing country for African countries and its leadership position, sought globally.Keywords: ideas; international cooperation; foreign policy; ProSAVANA. Recebido em: 10 abr. 2021 | Aceito em: 18 ago. 2021.

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