Delivered at:: Department of Political Science and International Affairs

Course type:: Elective course

When:: 4 year, 1, 2 module

Instructor

Агафонов Юрий Геннадьевич

Full Syllabus

Abstract

Why and how particular foreign policy decision was made? Why did it produce a failure or bring an unexpectable success? Interactive course Foreign Policy Analysis both overviews different approaches to the foreign policy analysis and implies the application of approaches to the analysis of the real cases of foreign policy decision making. We will consider different topics and theoretical approaches to foreign policy analysis, including the role of bureaucracy, public opinion and emotions, as well as constructivist and rational-choice explanations of foreign policy decision making, the phenomenon of groupthink and concept of the two-level game.

Learning Objectives

The main goal of this course is to introduce students to basics of foreign policy analysis

Expected Learning Outcomes

Able to do research, including the problem analysis, setting goals and objectives, defining the research subject, selecting research methods including its quality control
Student is capable of reporting the results of the information retrieval and analysis, academic or applied research she/he has conducted: - in various genres (including reviews, policy papers, reports and publications pertaining to socio-political subject matter); - and depending on the target audience
Able to solve professional problems based on synthesis and analysis
Student is capable of retrieving, collecting, processing and analyzing information relevant for achieving goals in the professional field
Student is capable of executing applied analysis of the political phenomena and political processes - by using political science methods - and in support of practical decision-making process

Course Contents

Foreign Policy Analysis vs. Theories of International Relations
Foreign Policy: What Is It and How to Assess It?
Rational Actor Model of the Foreign Policy
Organizational Model of Foreign Policy
Bureaucratic Politics and Foreign Policy Analysis
Foreign Policy as a Two-Level Game
Psychological Theories of Foreign Policy. Groupthink
Foreign Policy and Public Opinion
Operational Codes and Foreign Policy
Constructivist Approaches to the Foreign Policy Analysis
Emotions and Foreign Policy Analysis
Event Data in Foreign Policy Analysis
Perspectives of the Foreign Policy Analysis

Assessment Elements

In-class Participation
During the seminars, lecturer takes notes on the activities of each student, quantity and quality of his/her answers, and overall contribution to the discussion. At the end of the seminar, the lecturer evaluates the contribution by the following criteria. The four-point grading system applies, which is then converted to the ten-point grading system according to the formula: Gclass = n * (10/4) where n is a student grade from 0 to 4.
Team Work
Several seminars are designed to allow students to analyze cases of foreign policy decision-making in teams applying the approaches discussed in lectures and seminars. The component is calculated as an average grade for all team work events
Essay
Each student or group of students (no more than 4) is supposed to write a mid-term essay. The deadline for the mid-term essay will be announced on first classes. The mid-term essay is the first stage of work on the final essay.
Exam
the final exam is organized during the session period and is conducted in a form of individual or collective essay.

Interim Assessment

2021/2022 2nd module

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Alex Mintz. (2004). How Do Leaders Make Decisions? Journal of Conflict Resolution, (1), 3. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.sae.jocore.v48y2004i1p3.13
Beasley, R. K., & Kaarbo, J. (2014). Explaining Extremity in the Foreign Policies of Parliamentary Democracies. International Studies Quarterly, 58(4), 729–740. https://doi.org/10.1111/isqu.12164
Carlsnaes, W. (1992). The agency-structure problem in foreign policy analysis. International Studies Quarterly, 36(3), 245. https://doi.org/10.2307/2600772
Chien-Peng Chung. (2007). Resolving China’s Island Disputes: A Two-Level Game Analysis. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 12(1), 49–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11366-007-9001-7
Functionality in EU foreign policy: towards a new research agenda? (2010). Journal of European Integration, 32(2), 213–227. https://doi.org/10.1080/07036330903486045
Hudson, V. M., & Vore, C. S. (1995). Foreign policy analysis yesterday, today, and tomorrow. International Studies Quarterly, 39(3), 209. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=asn&AN=9601194480
Joshua D. Kertzer, & Thomas Zeitzoff. (2017). A Bottom‐Up Theory of Public Opinion about Foreign Policy. American Journal of Political Science, (3), 543. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12314
Kevin H. Wang. (1996). Presidential Responses to Foreign Policy Crises. Journal of Conflict Resolution, (1), 68. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.sae.jocore.v40y1996i1p68.97
Kuperman, R. D. (2001). Rules of military retaliation and their practice by the State of Israel. International Interactions, 27(3), 297–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050620108434987
Lebovic, J. H. (2004). Unity in action : explaining alignment behavior in the Middle East. Journal of Peace Research, 41(2), 167–189. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343304041778
Noone, H. (2019). Two-Level Games and the Policy Process: Assessing Domestic–Foreign Policy Linkage Theory. World Affairs, 182(2), 165–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/0043820019839074
Qingmin, Z. (2016). Bureaucratic Politics and Chinese Foreign Policy-making. Chinese Journal of International Politics, 9(4), 435–458. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjip/pow007
Stuart N. Soroka. (n.d.). ARTICLE Media, Public Opinion, and Foreign Policy. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.9F83003B
Whyte, G. (1989). Groupthink Reconsidered. Academy of Management Review, 14(1), 40–56. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1989.4279001

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Hudson, V. M. (2005). Foreign Policy Analysis: Actor-Specific Theory and the Ground of International Relations. Foreign Policy Analysis, 1(1), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-8594.2005.00001.x
Marsh, K. (2014). Obama’s Surge: A Bureaucratic Politics Analysis of the Decision to Order a Troop Surge in the Afghanistan War. Foreign Policy Analysis, 10(3), 265–288. https://doi.org/10.1111/fpa.12000
Morin, J.-F., & Paquin, J. (2018). Foreign Policy Analysis : A Toolbox. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1672782
Redlawsk, D. P., & Palgrave Connect (Online service). (2006). Feeling Politics : Emotion in Political Information Processing (Vol. 1st ed). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=188749
Rothschild, J. E., & Shafranek, R. M. (2017). Advances and Opportunities in the Study of Political Communication, Foreign Policy, and Public Opinion. Political Communication, 34(4), 634–643. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2017.1373004
Sula, I. E. (2019). An Eclectic Methodological Approach in Analyzing Foreign Policy: Turkey’s Foreign Policy Roles and Events Dataset (TFPRED). All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy & Peace, 8(2), 255–283. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=poh&AN=137302378
Sylvan, D., & Majeski, S. (2006). Reviving the Cybernetic Approach to Foreign Policy Analysis: Explaining the Continuity of U.S. Policy Instruments. Conference Papers —— International Studies Association, 1–20. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=poh&AN=27206859

Bachelor’s Programme 'Political Science and World Politics'

Contacts

International Accreditation

Foreign Policy Analysis