ABSTRACT
In this chapter our aim is to consider, quite simply, how foreign policy is made. In order to do this we will outline three different ‘images’ of foreign policy making. These allow us to make generalisations about policy making, although each approaches the subject with quite different analytical assumptions. We then consider the manner of foreign policy making in the context of a transformed world, focusing on how this process has been affected by a more fluid and complex agenda and an increased diversity of international actors. The chapter, finally, looks at ways in which foreign policy making can be compared and examines in particular the distinction between routine and crisis policy making and differences that derive from the type of political system (be this democratic, authoritarian or transitional) in which policy is constructed. Our assumption throughout the chapter is that foreign policy making is a far from straightforward process. The demands upon policy makers are many and often onerous, something that reflects the complexity of foreign policy itself.
