Introducing Foreign Policy Analysis

Jessica Blankshain11 minutes read

Foreign policy analysis explores policy-making processes and their outcomes through descriptive and normative approaches, including predictive and explanatory analysis. Major frameworks include levels of analysis, analytical perspectives on decision-making, and two-level games, categorizing explanations based on systemic, state, societal, and individual levels, and focusing on various actors and behaviors in policy-making.

Insights

  • Foreign policy analysis involves examining the process of making policies and their consequences, with a focus on understanding why decisions are made and their impact on the real world.
  • It encompasses both descriptive analysis, which looks at how things are and can be predictive or explanatory, and normative analysis, which involves making value judgments before or evaluating after processes.

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Recent questions

  • What is foreign policy analysis?

    Foreign policy analysis is a subfield of international relations that delves into understanding the processes of policy-making and their outcomes on a global scale. It involves examining the cause and effect relationships between policy decisions, actions, and their real-world consequences.

  • What are the types of analysis in foreign policy?

    There are two main types of analysis in foreign policy: descriptive and normative. Descriptive analysis focuses on understanding how policy-making processes are, while normative analysis involves making value judgments about how they should be.

  • What are the major frameworks in foreign policy analysis?

    Three major frameworks in foreign policy analysis are levels of analysis, analytical perspectives on foreign policy decision-making, and two-level games. Levels of analysis categorize explanations based on systemic, state and societal, and individual levels.

  • What do analytical perspectives focus on in foreign policy?

    Analytical perspectives in foreign policy focus on different actors and behaviors in policy-making. These include the unitary state, organizational process, bureaucratic politics, sub-bureaucratic politics, palace politics, and cognitive perspectives.

  • What is the purpose of normative analysis in foreign policy?

    Normative analysis in foreign policy serves the purpose of advocating for or against a process before it happens, as well as evaluating a process after it has taken place. It involves making value judgments and recommendations based on ethical considerations and desired outcomes.

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Summary

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Understanding Foreign Policy Analysis Frameworks

  • Foreign policy analysis is a subfield of international relations focusing on understanding policy-making processes and their outcomes.
  • It involves studying cause and effect relationships between policy-making processes, actions, decisions, and real-world outcomes.
  • Analysis can be descriptive (understanding how things are) or normative (making value judgments about how things should be).
  • Descriptive analysis can be predictive (before something happens) or explanatory (after something happens).
  • Normative analysis can be advocating for or against a process (before it happens) or evaluating a process (after it happens).
  • Three major frameworks for foreign policy analysis are levels of analysis, analytical perspectives on foreign policy decision-making, and two-level games.
  • Levels of analysis categorize explanations based on the systemic, state and societal, and individual levels.
  • Analytical perspectives focus on different actors and behaviors in policy-making, including the unitary state, organizational process, bureaucratic politics, sub-bureaucratic politics, palace politics, and cognitive perspectives.
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