Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) looks at the way that decisions affecting external relations are made and shaped by actors within the state. This makes it distinct from approaches to International Relations that take the structure of the international system as a starting point for analysis. By understanding how decisions are shaped by domestic politics and structures and the rationality of decision-makers it is possible to arrive at new understandings of the foreign policies of individual states and to critique and enrich scholarship in the mainstream of International Relations. This course will prepare you for such tasks by introducing you to the major theoretical approaches of FPA and how they can be applied to a range of case studies selected from a wide variety of states and international organisations.

Original image © Wes Mountain 

Modifications by Shaurya Dev (MSc International Relations, 2023)