ABSTRACT
In the Introduction, it was argued that in analysing foreign policy, the key element was the focus on national governments and their responses to changing global conditions. In this chapter, we aim to identify a number of key issues in foreign policy analysis, and to ‘problematise’ them, that is, explore their analytical implications for the assessment and comparison of foreign policies.
This chapter falls into five main sections. First, we identify a number of the ‘puzzles’ which have long preoccupied students of foreign policy. Second, we consider some conventional assumptions about foreign policy. Third, we look at the ways in which global transformation has questioned the continuing relevance of such assumptions. Fourth, we offer an overview of the main schools of thought in foreign policy analysis. Finally, we summarise the main elements of the framework of analysis developed in this chapter. This will then be carried forward in Chapters 2–4 (which explore specific areas of foreign policy itself: the policy arena, the policy-making process and the implementation of policy) and will also be used as the basis for case studies in Part Two.
