The Dynamics of National Interest in Foreign Policy

What is Foreign Policy? - The articulation of national interests and the means chosen to secure those interests, both Material and ideational in the international arena - Material interest - Physical security - Trade - Wealth - Natural resources - Control of territory - Ideational interest - Values - Norms - Ideals - Political systems - Economic systems Who makes Foreign Policy? - Formal actors - Executive branch - Legislative branch - Informal actors - Government bureaucracies - Sub-national governmental units

- Economic elites and the business community - Non-governmental organizations - “Think tanks” - The media - Public intellectuals How is National Interest Defined? - Realists: According to pursuit of power - Liberals: With the goal of establishing rule of law and promoting Institutions and regimes that promote global governance - Constructivists: A reflection of norms and socially constructed understandings of what is Good and appropriate - Marxists: A reflection of the economic/political elites of a given society, a strategy to Maximize economic benefit to these elites - Feminists: Shaped by gendered assumptions about what/who matters Often a reflection of Male patriarchy Hard v. Soft Power - One way to categorize the tools available to states and policymakers in crafting foreign Policy articulated by Joseph Nye - Hard power: Material threats or inducements that leaders employ to achieve the goals of Their state - Soft power: Influence and authority deriving from the attraction that a country’s political, Social, and economic ideas, beliefs, and practices have for people living in other countries