International Relations

Lecture # 09
By
Ms. Nighat Noureen
SSH
University of Management and Technology

Topic of Discussion
Decision making in foreign policy
Aspects of foreign policy
Merits of a successful foreign policy
Factors which makes decision making
more complex
Factors involves in meaningful decision
making
Task assigned
What major changes do you want in
your society and how these changes
can be?

Decision making in Foreign
Policy
Decision-making in foreign policy involves
the analysis and assessment of past and
present data, in the light of one states
past experience and that of others, who
had dealt with similar situations.
It is done in order to identify the need and
available options for action in the future
and the likely implications of each of those
options for the protection and promotion
of a states national interests.
Aspects of Foreign Policy
Political aspects
Internal aspect along with external
security related
economic including commercial,
and societal

Merits of a successful
Foreign Policy
protects and advances one states national
interests
contributes to the preservation and
enhancement of one states status and power,
without being unduly detrimental to the
national interests, power and status of
others.
It seeks to avoid conflicts and, where this is
not possible, to minimize the likely damage to
one states national interests, power and
status.
Factors which makes decision
making more complex
1. Emergence of ethical issues
2. The greater focus on non-political
aspects
3. The new complexities of the security
aspect
4. trend towards greater trans-
nationalization of the decision-making
process

Factors which makes decision
making more complex (cont.)
5. The increasingly assertive role of national
and trans-national non-State actors
6. More demands from the non-State actors
and other sections of the public for
transparency and accountability
7. The availability of knowledge at the
mouse-tip has contributed to a greater
non-State participation in policy-making
and implementation
Factors involves in
meaningful decision making
1. Effective storage of past facts,
experience and assessments and the
capability for their rapid recovery in
order to use them for current
decision-making
2. Capability for the collection of current
data, open as well as secret
Factors involves in meaningful
decision making (cont.)
3. The availability of knowledge of how other
countries handled similar or comparable
situations and with what out comes
4. The quality of the in-house expertise and
the availability of external (non-State)
expertise to analyze and assess the
relevant data and experience and to
identify the available options for the future
and the willingness of the in-house
experts to continually seek and use such
external expertise
Conclusion
There is an urgent need for an
examination of the positive and
negative aspects of one states policy
and decision-making process in respect
of foreign policy in the light of the
experience of other states in order to
improve the quality and effectiveness of
the decision-making.