Rationale 

This course will provide students with a solid foundation to the subfield of foreign policy analysis. It will study its origins and process, as well as the main factors that influence this process within different institutional structures. Students will be introduced to several models used in Foreign Policy Analysis and will assess their relevance and analytical advantages and limitations when applied to "real world" scenarios. The course explores some major events or crises such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Iraq War attempting to get an overview of different states’ foreign policies in the international society. The complex role of the media in foreign policy and its interaction with public opinion will also be discussed. 

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course students will be expected to:

(i)    Identify the main factors that influence the foreign policy making process.
(ii)   Determine the goals behind different national foreign policies.
(iii)  Evaluate different models used in foreign policy analysis.
(iv)  Apply various theoretical models to the analysis of a case study.
(v)   Describe the tension between agency and structure.
(vi)  Compare the foreign policies of different countries.
(vii) Evaluate different foreign policy practices used by different states on a global level. 
(viii) Describe how a state’s power, location and level of development impact its foreign policies.
(ix)  Discuss the media's complicated role in foreign policy decisions.