Analyzing Foreign Policy

The second edition of this introductory textbook on foreign policy analysis focuses on the key explanatory factors that underlie the foreign policies of states and other actors to show how theory can illuminate practice. Genuinely international in scope and drawing on a wide range of examples, it provides an accessible introduction to the key elements of foreign policy analysis to explain, predict and evaluate what states and other collective actors want, how they make decisions, and key determinants of state security, diplomatic, and economic foreign policies. Providing a broad set of theoretical tools for analysing foreign policy, and including increased coverage of methodology, this new edition provides students with the skills to undertake their own foreign policy analysis.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction 2. Research Questions and the Use of Theory 3. Choosing an Appropriate Research Strategy 4. System Level Factors 5. Domestic Factors 6. Understandings of the Choice Situation 7. Making Foreign Policy 8. What States Do: Security Policies 9 What States Do: Diplomacy 10. What States Do: Economic Foreign Policies 11. A Transformation of State Foreign Policy-Making?

About the Author :
Derek Beach is Professor of Political Science at the Aarhus University, Denmark. Rasmus Brun Pedersen is Associate Professor of Political Science at Aarhus University, Denmark.

Review :
This second edition goes from strength to strength. It offers an authoritative and accessible introduction to foreign policy analysis and gives invaluable advice on research design and strategy. It should be essential reading for any student of foreign policy. Students and scholars need this book on their shelf. The text is clear, accessible and informative, with each chapter incorporating a wealth of pertinent examples and drawing on a wide range of authoritative scholarly sources. A superb text! An excellent overview of the main theories and approaches to the study of foreign policy, this book is a perfect combination for students at all levels seeking to understand how foreign policy is crafted and implemented. This excellent book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to the field of Foreign Policy Analysis. With its combination of theory, methods, and practical application, this is a first-rate textbook for students and scholars alike. Beach and Pedersen deftly present the fascinating sub-discipline of foreign policy analysis with plentiful practical examples and a rich connection to IR scholarship. Methodologically diverse and rich in content, and with two very helpful chapters on doing FPA research, this second edition is a must-have. The new edition of Analyzing Foreign Policy, featuring expanded and updated methodology-related content, is now the go-to resource for students seeking straightforward, practical guidance on how to conduct on foreign policy research. A timely introduction to the field of Foreign Policy Analysis that not only introduces key drivers and issue areas of foreign policy but embeds the discussion in broader questions of research strategy and design. Analyzing Foreign Policy's revised edition has a lot to offer to teachers of classes on foreign policy. The original book has been effectively expanded to help students formulate relevant research questions, choose their research design and embed their work in the general International Relations literature. This book thus serves the purpose of making one's students engage with foreign policy issues in a creative and academically rewarding way. An intelligent and insightful survey of the field of Foreign Policy Analysis, offering students and scholars an excellent starting point for their own research. Methodological issues are described with clarity and precision and the text is replete with practical examples from world politics. This is both a first rate teaching tool and an original contribution to the discipline in its own right.