Global trends

Chapter two
Understanding foreign policy and diplomacy

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Defining National Interest
• National interest is the reason of state to justify its actions and policy
towards other states at international level.

• National interest refers to set of values, orientation, goals and objectives

a given country would like to achieve in its international relations.

• It has been the main driving force that determines the contents of foreign
policy.

• An image of the future state of affairs and future set of conditions that
governments through individual policy makers aspire to bring about by
wielding influence abroad and by changing or sustaining the behaviors of
other states. 2
Con’t…’
Colmbis has provided a multiplicity of criteria used in defining national interest, including

A. Operational Philosophy

 two major style of operation

I. Synoptic - act in a bold and sweeping fashion.

-introduce major new practices, policies, and institutions and discontinue others.

II. Incremental - assumes that political and economic problems are too complex to proceed
with bold initiative without worrying about their consequence.

- act in caution, probing, and experimental fashion, following the trial and error approach

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B. Ideological Criteria:
Governments may identify their friends or enemies countries using the litmus test of
ideology.
During cold war, the ideology of communism and capitalism had been often used to
establish cooperation or conflict with countries.
C. Moral and Legal Criteria:
states are expected to act morally
moral behavior, in international politics involves
keeping your promise –treaties,
living and letting others live (the poor and the disadvantaged),
avoiding exploitation and uneven development between the developing countries and
the developed ones;
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D. Pragmatic Criteria:
look at issues and events around you and the world with sense of
rationality.
On the basis of the scientific analysis of cost and benefit or merit and
demerit to your country interest, you may act.
So the practical utility of merit of your action will be counted other
than morality and personal sentiments
E. Professional Advancement Criteria:
your action may be manipulated and adjusted in consideration of your
professional survival and growth, in short your personal success.
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F. Partisan Criteria:
you may use bureaucratic criteria to prioritize the policy issues.
You may tend to equate the interest of your organization (the army,
the foreign office, and so forth) with the national interest.
G. Foreign Dependency Criteria:
usually applies to less developing countries,
These countries are still dependent on their ex-colonial states
face difficulties to defend and promote their national interest.

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Realist - reject the ideological, legal and moral criteria to define and shape the
contents of national interest.
• Hans Morgenthau advised leaders to prioritize pragmatic criteria when defining
national interest and employing foreign policy.
• Morgenthau defines national interest in terms of pursuits of power. And power is
about establishing control or influencing the behaviors of others, either
diplomatically or use of coercion.
Idealists - have strong belief in the relevance of legal, ideological and moral elements
which realists fail to recognize as the constituting elements of national interest.
 national interest reflects the marriage of different criteria that include legal and
moral criteria, ideological criteria and prudence or pragmatism-practical necessities
on the ground.
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Realists fail to recognize and solutions for addressing global problems
because of the exclusive emphasis given to state and national interest.
Idealists believe on the prevalence of common problems as,
environmental pollution, ecological imbalance, depletion of resource,
population growth, poverty, war, arms race, uneven development and
the north-south gap…etc.
idealists call for global solutions than local (national) solutions. The
establishment of new institutions with global orientation may play vital
role in addressing global problems, instead of the state-centric
particularism. States could no longer be viable actors in addressing cross-
cutting problems by themselves.
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Understanding Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Behaviors
Foreign Policy-
 The sets of objectives and instruments that a state adopts to guide its relation
with the outside world.
 Is something that a state would like to achieve in its external relations with others.
 They are in one way or another related to national interest.
 It involves the general purposes and specific strategies a state employs to achieve
or promote its national interest.
•It also encompasses specific strategies and instruments, economic and diplomatic
tools that states employ to achieve their objectives.
 These objectives, visions and goals state aspire to achieve is commonly referred as
national interest.
 Morgenthau suggests that the minimum goal a state would like to achieve is
survival.
 Every state should protect their physical(maintenance of the territorial integrity) ,
political(preservation of existing politico-economic systems), and cultural identities
(ethnic, religious, and linguistic and historical norms of the peoples residing in the state )
against any encroachment by other states. 9
Foreign Policy Objectives

The foreign policy objectives can be classified as:

A. Core values and interests (Short Range Objectives) –

 to which states commit their very existence and that must be
preserved or extended at all time;
 kinds of goals for which most people are willing to make ultimate sacrifices.
 related to the self preservation of political and economic systems, the people and its
culture, and the territorial integrity of a state.
 These are short-range b/c others goals cannot be realized if the
existence of the state and its political units are not ensured.
 In conclusion, core interests and values, is to ensure the sovereignty

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and independence of the home territory and to perpetuate a particular
B. Middle Range Objectives
 They drastically varies across states due to the d/nce in the level of economic,
technological progress and the military capability of states.
 They have the highest impact on the domestic economic and welfare needs and
expectation of states.
 This would include the attempts of government to meet economic-betterment
demands and needs through international action.
 Social welfare and economic development, cannot be achieved through self-help, as
most states have only limited resources, administrative services, and technical
skills.
 Interdependence means that to satisfy domestic needs and aspirations, states would have to
interact with others.
 Trade, foreign aid, access to communication facilities, sources of supply, and foreign market
are for most states necessary for increasing social welfare. 11
C. Long- Range Objectives
 Are those plans, dreams, and visions concerning the ultimate political or ideological
organization of the international system.
 The difference between middle and long range are not only to time elements, but
also significant difference in scope.
 In pressing for middle range goals , states make particular demands against
particular interest;
 In pursuing long range goals, states normally make universal demands, for their
purpose is no less than to reconstruct an entire international system according to
a universally applicable plan or vision.
 Here it must be noted that such long range visions and dreams may have
international repercussions as far as they are complemented by the capabilities and
powers.
 This, however, states that are less capable, often those middle powers and
less developing countries, does not formulate long range objectives. 12
Foreign Policy Behavior: Patterns and Trends

Foreign policy behavior-the actions states take towards each other.

 These actions usually are not as ends in themselves.
 The nature of foreign policy is such that one can expect to find double standards
and inconsistencies in the records of all countries.
 Arnold Wolfers, suggested that all foreign policy behavior ultimately boils down
to three possible patterns:
 Self-preservation (maintaining the status quo)- U.S has become the sole defender of the international
system and the liberal economic-political order after the collapse of USSR and decline of communist ideology.
 Self-extension (revising the status quo in one’s own favor)- China, India, Brazil, Germany and others are
competing to restructure the international institutions and different regimes so as to create enabling environment to promote their
national interest.
 Self-abnegation (revising the status quo in some else’s favor)- weak states of the world which fail to
defend and promote their national interests in their external relations.
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Foreign Policy Dimensions
 These dimensions/patterns include alignment, scope and
modus operandi.
I. Alignment
 Formal agreement on alliances or neutrality,
 A country’s alignment behavior can vary from time to time
during its history in response to changing circumstances and
policy decisions.
 Yet one can identify the alignment tendencies such as
alliance, neutrality and non-alignment.
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 Con’t...
Alliances- are formal agreements to provide mutual military assistance
 Allied countries can pool their military resources, acquire access to foreign bases and stake out
territories that enemies are on notice will be denied them by force if necessary.
 Yet an alliance state also risks of interference by allies in its domestic affairs, the possibility being
dragged.
Neutrality- is a stance of formal non-partisanship in world affairs.
 neutrals may avoid some of the problems associated with alliances, particularly the generating of
potential enemies, counter alliances and risk of interference.
 However, neutrals must also be aware that if war clouds gather, there may be no one committed to
providing a protective military umbrella. Eg. Switzerland was refused membership to United Nations till
2002.
Non-alignment- has been the foreign policy pattern of most developing state during cold war.
 Most developing countries had a movement of NAM in which they called for a new foreign policy
path/choice/ to be followed disregarding the both the West and East bloc politics and alliances. Although
that was practically impossible, NAM had noble agenda that called for the South-South cooperation.
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II. Scope
• A country’s scope of contact can affect the outcome of disputes and crises.

• With regards to the scope of activities, one can identify at least three
patterns of foreign policy behaviors.
 Act in Global terms- Major Powers that have defined their interest in global
terms, interacting regularly with countries in nearly every region of the world.
• A country such as U.S.A has often defined its national interest in global terms, and
it has more or less the wherewithal and the capability to influence world events.
• Despite it has been declining in economic terms, the country’s military presence
and diplomatic communication in every part of the world make her global actor.

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 Con’t…
As Regional terms-interacting primarily with
neighboring states in the same geographical area
except for contacts, frequently concerning economic
issues such as trade; with major actors like United
States and China outside their region.
• For example, South Africa is a regional actor in Africa in
general and in Southern Africa in Particular. It is the most
important actor in regional organizations such as SADDIC
and AU.
• India in South Asia, China in entire Asia and also in other
parts of world.
Policy of Isolationism-Some moments in history,
such as key weakness or geographic remoteness, may
cause the scope of a country’s foreign policy to
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III. Mode of Operation/ “Modus Opernadi’
• Some countries often rely on multilateral institutions to address different
issues. Still others very much rely on unilateral means.
• The multilateralist state is, seek solutions to problems through diplomatic
forums, such as the UN, rather than bilateral, approaches.
• Most developing countries used the multilateral approaches.
• The multilateral forum would enhance collective barraging power.
• In addition, establishing bilateral relations are often found to be costly.
• The best strategy to address issues with the spirit of cooperation and
peace.
• Germany, Scandinavian countries fall under this category.
• countries may opt to rely on unilateral means of settling different issues
• They play the carrot and stick diplomacy to affect the outcomes of events.
Intervention, threat of use of force
• The more unilateral a state is the more likely to initiate actions in
international relations or to resist initiatives taken by others
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Instruments of Foreign Policy; Includes
I. Diplomacy-
can be defined as a process between actors (diplomats, usually
representing a state) who exist within a system (international
relations) and engage in private and public dialogue (diplomacy) to
pursue their objectives in a peaceful manner.
Diplomacy is a complex game of maneuver in which the goal is to
influence the behaviors of others in ones interest.

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Rules of Effective Diplomacy
• Be realistic
• Be careful about what you say
• Seek common ground
• Understand the other side
• Be patient
• Leave avenues of retreat open

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II. Economic Instruments of Foreign Policy
Economic instruments can be used to achieve the foreign policy of
objective of a state.

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Overview of Foreign Policy of Ethiopia
 Foreign Policy during Tewodros II (1855-1868)
he introduced the idea of modernity and modern army at the time.
Tewodros tried to develop a dynamic foreign policy that reached out
beyond the Horn Region.
He sought the Western Christian world to recognize his country and
help him to modernize his country.
his diplomatic relations to fight his immediate enemies claiming
Christianity as instrument of foreign policy.

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Foreign Policy during Yohannes IV (1872-1889)
 Like Tewodros II, Yohannes considered Islam as a threat to the territorial
integrity of the polity.
Egypt attempt to invade the country to control the source of Blue Nile.
In addition to Muslim threat, colonial ambition of Italy
Foreign Policy during Menelik II
Defending Ethiopia from Italian colonial expansionist
Modernizing the country
Exchanging ambassadors and conclude country's boundary with neighboring
European colonial powers mainly after the victory of Adwa in 1896.
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BE GLOBAL!!!!!!!

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