The action of a state in the international arena result from

individual human choices by its citizenry, political leaders,

diplomats and bureaucrats aggregated through internal
structures.
Strategies used by govts to guide their actions in international
arena is FP.
FP spells out the pursuit of objectives developed by state leaders
in a given relationship or situation.
FP process. How arrived at and implemented.
States establish various organizational structures and
functional relationships to create and carry out Foreign
policies.
Collection of data by officials and agencies through different
modes. Write memoranda outlining the possible option for
action.
Comparative FP is study of FP in various states in order to
discover whether similar types of societies or govts follow
the similar type of FP consistently.
Size,wealth and democratic participation in govt is the focus
.States vary in their behavior .
Capitalist and communist states have shown the capability
of naked aggression and peacefulness depending upon
circumstances.
FP are also interpreted in terms of political culture and
history.
FP is result from multiple forces and various levels of
analysis. Out come depends on individual decision
makers ,type of govt, and international and global context of
their actions.
The study of FP concentrates on forces with in state ,main
emphasis is on individual and domestic level of analysis.
 Decision Making
Fp is a process of decision making.States take actions
because of people in govt and decision makers.Decision
making is a steering process in which adjustments are made
as a result of feed back from the outside world.Decisions are
followed by actions to change the world. Information from
the world is monitored to evaluate the effects of actions.
Evaluations +changes in the environment results in to next
round of decision making.
RATIONAL MODEL: Decision makers set goals ,evaluate
their relative importance, calculate the cost and benefits of
each action & choose the one with highest benefits and
lowest costs. Choice may be complicated about the cost and
benefits of various actions.
In such case probabilities are attached to each outcome of
an action.
Some are accepting of risk and some are averse to risk.
Goal of different individual may differ as may the goals of
different state agencies.
Alternative to rational model is organizational
process model.FP makers generally skip the labor
intensive process of identifying goals and alternative
actions.
Clarify your goals in the situation
Order them by importance
List the alternatives for achieving your goals
Investigate the consequence of each alternative
Choose the alternative that best achieves your goals
 Individual Decision Makers
Every international event is intended or unintended result
of decision made by individuals.
Study of individual decision making revolves around the
question of rationality.
Falling of Atom Bomb
Rational actor models assume that interests are the same
from one actor to another.
Ind DM have differing values, beliefs, unique personalities
and intellectual capabilities.
 Group Psychology
Groups promote rationality by balancing out the blind spots
and biases of any individual.
Advisors or legislative committees may force a state leader
to reconsider a rash decision.
Interaction of different individuals in a group may result in
the formulation of goals that more closely reflect state
interests.
Group think refers to the tendency for groups to reach
decisions without accurately assessing the consequences.
 Crisis Management
Difficulties in reaching rational decisions for individuals and
groups are heightened in crises.
Crises are situations in which outcomes are very important
and time frames are compressed
Crises decision making is hard to predict than normal
foreign policy making.
Decision makers operaate under constraints.Normal checks
on unwise decisions may not operate.Communication
becomes shorter and stereo type.Info not fit is discarded
becasuse of shortage of time to think.
Group think occurs easily in crises.
Participants in Crisis decision making are not only rushed
but experience psychological stress
Decision makers tend to overestimate the hostility of
adversaries and underestimate their own hostility towards
those adversaries.
 Whether crises mode or normal routines, individual
decision makers do not operate alone. The decisions are
shaped by the govts and society in which they work.
Foreign Policy is constrained and shaped by sub state actors
such as govt agencies ,political interest groups and
industries.

Domestic Politics
Societies and states with in which decision makers operate
also shape up FP.
Bureaucrats: Closest sub state actors to the foreign policy
process are the state’s bureaucratic agencies maintained for
developing and carrying out FP.
Diplomats: All states maintain a diplomatic corps or
foreign service of diplomats working in embassies.
Diplomatic activities are organized through a foreign
ministry. Role of diplomats is to carry out rather than to
create policy.
 Inter Agency Tensions
Tensions b/w top political leaders and bureaucracies are
form of the said in formulation of FP.
Traditionally clash of agencies result in endless tug of war.
Bureaucracies promote policies under which their own
capabilities will be effective and their power will increase.
Sometimes agencies also try to be faithful to head of state.
Rivalry is an influence in FP that challenges the notion of
states as unitary actors in int system.
 Interest Group
FP makers operate not only in a political vacuum but also in
the context of political debates in their society. Societal
pressure influences FP in all states. INTEREST Groups are
coalitions of people who share a common interest in the
outcome of some political issue and who organize
themselves to try to influence the outcome.
Lobbying is the process of talking with legislators or officials
to influence their decisions on some issues.
3 important elements for successful lobbying
Ability to in a hearing with an official
Ability to present arguments for case
Ability to trade favors in return for positive action on an
issue.
Ethnic groups often become interest groups concerned
about their ancestral nation outside that state. Emotional
ties with their relatives in other country.
The goals and interets of Interest group may or may not
coincide with the national interest as whole .