Analyzing Foreign Policy

Genuinely international in scope and drawing on a wide range of examples from around the world, this important new text provides an accessible introduction to the key elements of foreign policy analysis.

Analyzing Foreign Policy examines the wide range of factors that explain why states and other actors behave in the way they do. Showing how theory can illuminate practice, Derek Beach explores how different theoretical approaches – including structural realism, liberalism and constructivism – can be applied to deepen our understanding of events and actions.

The book covers all aspects of the policy process – from what states want and how decisions are made through to what states actually do across security, economic and diplomatic policies. Derek Beach also assesses whether we are witnessing a fundamental shift in the nature of foreign policy as a result of globalization and the rise of new non-state actors. The concluding chapter introduces readers to the various research methods available for the study of foreign policy. Engagingly written, this text is the ideal starting point for all who wish to understand and explain the drivers of contemporary foreign policy.