Richardo Brown
International Politics / International Relations
Chapter 4: Foreign Policy
Foreign policies are government strategies used by the government to guide their actions in the international arena. Foreign Policies spell out objectives, state leaders have decided to pursue in a given relationship or situation. The actions of a state in the international arena result from individual human choices by the citizenry, political leaders, diplomats and bureaucrats moving through the states internal structures. States establish various organizational structures and functional relations to create and carry foreign policies. Officials and agencies collect information about a situation through various channels, writing memoranda’s outlining positive options for action, also holding meetings to discuss the matter. Some of them meet privately outside the meetings to decide how to steer the meetings.
Comparative foreign policy is foreign policy in various states to discover similar societies or governments have similar types of foreign policy with focus on size wealth and extent of democratic participation in government.
Some political scientist tried to interpret states foreign policies in terms of each ones political culture and history. Decision making is the foreign policy process, and states take action because governmental people called decision makers choose those actions to steer adjustments made as a result of feedback from the outside world. Groupthink refers to group who reach decisions without assessing their consequences and that’s where individuals members go along with ideas they think others support.
A case of groupthink; President Ronald Reagan’s close friend and director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Casey ran covert operations across three continents using the National Security Agency (NSC) staff in the White House basement. The NSC sold weapons to Iran in exchange for freedom of hostages held in Lebanon and used the Iran payments to illegally fund Nicaraguan contra rebels. The Iran–Contra scandal resulted when the operation’s manager NSC aid Oliver North became public.
Bureaucracies are the closest sub-states to the foreign policy process and the state’s bureaucratic agencies maintaining the development and carrying out foreign policy. Domestic policy is shaped not only for internal dynamics if individuals and group decision making but by the states and societies within the decision makers operating boundaries. Different states have different have different foreign policy and still share common elements.
Diplomats are one part of a states diplomatic corp. or Foreign Service of diplomats working in embassies in foreign capitals and consulates located in non-capital foreign cities, as well as remaining at home to help coordinate foreign policy. States appointed Ambassadors as the official representative to other states and to international organizations. Diplomatic activities are organized by Foreign Ministry or equivalent U.S. State Department. Diplomats provide information that goes into making a foreign policies rather than the role of carrying out one. Interest groups are coalitions who share a common interest of some political issue outcome and organize trying to influence the outcome. They lobby for desired legislation and contribute to politicians’ campaigns. Interest groups form around businesses, labor unions, churches, veterans, senior citizens, members of an occupation or citizens concerned about a issue such as the environment. Lobbying is talking with legislation, or other official to influence their decisions on some set of issues. The three most important elements into lobbying are the ability to gain a hearing with busy officials, the ability to present cogent arguments for one’s case, and the ability to trade favors in return for positive action on an issue. The favors are legal and illegal, ranging from campaign contributions, dinners at nice restaurants, and trips to golf resorts, securing illicit sexual liaisons, and paying bribes. In some states corruption is a major problem in governmental decision making.
Tensions are common between state leaders and foreign policy bureaucrats. Diplomats orientate new leaders and their appointee, and control the flow of information they receive with information screens. Politicians exercise power over formal bureaucrats because politicians can turn bureaucratic and be easily controlled. Top political leaders and bureaucrats form an interagency tension using the saying where you stand is depending on where you sit. An example of bureaucratic rivalry is the US State department and the CIA because of the influence on foreign policy as a influence that extends far beyond bureaucratic agencies because their actors have their own goal which they seek to advance by foreign policy.
Economics
Macroeconomics looks at the operation of a nation’s economy as a whole, and micro economics looks at the behavior of people and organizations in particular market. Macroeconomics looks at how many jobs exist in the whole economy, microeconomics examine how many people will be hired in a particular industry or in a certain region of the country.
Businesses contribute the economic system and resource development by inventing products to increase available resources. Businesses discover new energy resources and new ways of growing food.
Some economist believe there are too many people in the world and the solution to poverty is birth control , while other economist believe freedom is vital to economy, the freedom to own land or property and to keep profits from controlling the land or running business. An economy grows and profits through production of goods and services. People working for their own benefit will provide goods and services to others who need them. Wealthy business owners have to hire workers to provide goods and services so their company has plenty of goods and services and many people have jobs.
The foundation of the US economic system is capitalism. In a capitalist system the factors of production and distribution are privately owned and not owned by government operating for profit. Business people decide what to produce, how much to pay workers, how much to charge for goods and services, and decide whether to produce goods domestically, import them or contract other countries to have goods made , to serve the countries they provide manufacturing to. The four basic rights of capitalism or free market system are: the right to private property, the right to own a business, and keep the profits, the right to freedom of competition and the right to freedom of choice. In countries where there are no mechanisms for business to determine what or how much to produce there are often shortages or surpluses. In these countries the government decides what to produce in what quantities, but the government has no way of knowing proper quantities.
A monopoly exist where there is only one seller for a product of service. One seller controls the supply and so could raise the prices dramatically. Laws in the United States prohibit monopolistic competition except for utility service monopolies. Monopolist competitions exist when a large number of sellers say different. The product’s differentiation is the key to success in competitive situation. Oligopoly is that only a few sellers dominate the market, for example coffee, cereal and the soft drink market. Investment to enter an oligopoly is high and prices are similar, and once again product differentiation is the main factor in market success.
The free market benefits industrialized countries and that is a major factor for creating the wealth those countries enjoy. Free market encourages businesses to be efficient enough to compete on prices and quality. Capitalism ahs brought prosperity to the US and many other countries in the world, and it also has brought inequality of wealth because business owners have made more money and has more wealth than workers. There will be people unable and unwilling to work or start a business’ and others without the talent or motivating drives to do so. This brings about the capitalism or free market danger that people will let greed dictate how they act in order to increase personal assets.
Richardo Brown / A00196112
Political Science #160
International Politics
International Relations: Journal #8
International Trade
My conclusions are: this high technology-state of the art global civilization that we are living in benefits from exchange determined with many buyers and sellers determining prices by market equilibrium, or supply and demand (ceteris paribus). The politics in international markets uses economic sanctions on a target state for political leverage. The most important global trade agreement is the World Trade Organization. Large corporations that manufacture goods such as automobiles, mining, aviation, agriculture, for and to the global need, so regional free areas such as NAFTA will change to commerce in economic trade has not been completed. Even though beneficial deals have been made by the countries involves. Political conflicts between states and countries involve intellectual property, food military goods and services. Reciprocity is used to enforce rules of trade, hoping for a state’s cooperation or a state’s punishment for refusal to let in foreign products into the open market. These political sanctions are difficult to enforce and all major economic actors in the international market must abide by them to have a liberalism per se international cooperation to include the creation of wealth in exchange to favor the mercantilism to increase political state power. This is a example of the successful economics that the state of China is making transition in the global trade.
Because religion is the core of a community’s value system in much of the world, religious practices different and are easily disdained and treated as unworthy or inhuman. Religious differences hold potential for conflict and making existing conflicts intractable because religion involves core values held as the absolute truth. Currently violent conflicts are prosecuted in the name of all. The world’s major religious conflict, the U.S. war on terror is directed against a network of Islamic terrorist not against terrorism. Islam is the religion practiced by Muslims includes Sunni Muslims (the majority), Shi’ite, Muslims and smaller branches and sects. International conflicts between Muslims and Non Muslims in result of geographical and historical circumstances including colonialism and oil. Islamist groups are based on government and Islamic Law. Armed Islamic groups vary tremendously, in the particular Sunni and Shi’ites wing Islam lead to violence in Iraq. Shi’ites ruled Sunnis in Iraq.
Historically military is the most effective in controlling territory and wars have often withdrawn borders of states. Drug trafficking is smuggling as a form of illegal trade across international borders. It deprives states of revenue and violates states legal control of there borders. Smuggling is a economic issue not a general one. Drug trafficking supplies illegal products treated as a illegal threat in security because of natural morale and efficiency.
Military Force and Terrorism
Estimated Great Power Military Capabilities 2001 -2006
Country Soldiers (M) Tanks Carrier/ Combat Airplanes Nuclear Weapons
Warships/
Submarines
United States 1.5 10,000 11/112/74 3,600 10,000
Russia 1.0 20,000 1/40/69 1,800 16,000
China 2.3 10,000 0/29/6 2,100 410
France 0.3 1,000 0/19/12 300 350
Britain 0.2 1,000 0/36/16 300 200
Germany 0.2 3,000 0/14/0 400 0
Japan 0.2 1,000 0/39/20 300 0
Ballistic Missile Capabilities
Country Range (Miles) Potential Targets
United States 13,000 (World)
Russia 13,000 (World)
China 13,000 (World)
Britain 4,600 (World; Submarine- Launched)
France 3,700 [4,600] (World; Submarine- Launched)
North Korea 800 [3,500] South Korea, Russia, China [All Asia]
Iran 900 [3,500] Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Israel
[Europe to Asia]
Israel 900 [3,500] Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt
India 1,500 [2,000] Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, Iran,
Turkey
Pakistan 800 [2,000] India [Russia, Turkey, Israel]
Saudi Arabia 1,700 Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Turkey, Yemen
Egypt, Libya, Sudan
Syria 300 Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey
Egypt 400 Libya, Sudan, Israel
Libya 200 Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria
Yemen 200 Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates 200 Saudi Arabia, Iran
Afghanistan 200 Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia
Kazakhstan 200 Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Krygyzstan,
East Timor/Indonesia
Journal 10: International Intergration
International Integration is a partial shift in sovereignty from a state of nationalism to states of supranational institutions that are considered an outgrowth in International Corporation in the functioning technical and economic issue areas.
The most advanced case of international integration is the European Union (E.U.). The EU has 27 states in membership together for larger structures and identities. This brings power for larger economic divisions. 12 of the 27 states that composition the European Union compromises a common currency called the Euro, thus in resulting the individual states power individually in profits from the Euro than the unity in bloc of the famed EU holding general supranational currency and profit power. It is said this is the biggest experiment in money in history. The EU also have a trade bloc meaning a free trade area is formed by taxes, tariffs and trade agreements. The EU bloc specifically defines trade pacts with adjudication trade panel bodies. A number of economic blocs have developed to promote trade between member states since the demise of the world’s empires. The EU trade bloc was established through trade pacts covering international economic integration giving a wide range of taxes, tariffs and trade pacts with investment guarantees. The European Trade pact is politically contentious because the states of the EU economic customs and deepen interdependence between the states that are the trade partners.
Political Science 160
International Regime
International Regime is a set of rules norms and procedure which actors converge in certain issues about arms control, international trade or Antarctic exploration. Expectations are participants in the international system have similar ideas on what rules will govern, and each expect to by the same rules of the game. The meaning of regime is not the same that referring to the domestic government of state, especially governments considered illegitimate as in regime change. Because regimes depend on state power for enforcement, regimes are most effective when power in the international system is most concentrated and that’s when there is a hegemon to keep the order. International regimes do not always decline with the power of hegemony that created them instead regimes take on their own lifestyles. Actors of hegemon are crucial in establishing regimes but deny maintaining them. International relations rely on social theories or social interactions to explain individuals and state preference contrasting to the state wanting more power.
Constructivism lessons about the nature of norms, identity and social interactions, its interest and in how actors define, national interest, threats to those interest and how they relate per se. An example is why the US is concerned when North Korea builds nuclear weapons but not when Great Britain does. North Korea poses a bigger threat from a pure military power observation. Great Britain is far more superior in military force than North Korea. No one can argue that Great Britain is a threat to the US no matter how many nuclear weapons it builds and disagreements about foreign policy becomes. Constructivist will point out shared history, shared alliances and norms that show the US and Great Britain although very militarily they are not threat to one another.
Postmodernism approaches the central idea there is no single objective reality but a multiplicity of experiences and perspectives that defy easy categorization, so post modernism is a single set of objectives interests. The Soviet Union is the second most important actor in the world. The Soviet Union amazed the world when it split into 15 pieces, each containing its own fractious group and elements of contentious republics, ethnic groups, and individuals.
Militarism is the glorification of war, military force, and violence through television, films, books, political speeches, toys, games, sports, and other avenues referring to society’s structure around war i.e. the dominant role of the military industrial complex in a national economy or dominance of national security issues in domestic politics. Anthropologist tried to connect the domestic characterizes of
Hunter gathers societies with their propensity to engage in warfare. War occurs in societies with gender inequalities, harsh child rearing practices with fathers who are absent. Peaceful societies are more likely t open decisions making processes, relative gender equalities and permissive and affectionate child rearing. Positive peace encompasses approaches to social change and alternate mechanisms for conflict resolutions taking the place of war, popular pressure on governments through peace movements and political activism, the development of international or global identity transcending national ethnic and religious divisions, equalitarian relations within society in the economic and social realm including changes in gender roles. Gender equality would increase natural capabilities by giving the state a better pool of diplomats, generals, soldiers and politicians.
Realism or political realism is school of thought international relations in terms of power. Realpolitik or power politics is the exercising of power by states towards each other. Idealism supports international law, morality and international events. Idealism in the international system is based on a community of states that has potential to work together to exercise problems and the principles most flow from morality. Power is a central concept in international relations difficult to measure or define. Power is the ability to get a actor to do what the actor would not have done. Power is a influence and power explains influence and of course influence measures power and its ability to po
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