ABSTRACT
Pragmatism in policy process framework seeks to present how pragmatism works (or should work) from a practitioner perspective. The neoclassical realist model of foreign policy states that systemic incentives (independent variables) drive internal factors (intervening variables) which lead to a foreign policy. The policy cycle model adds to the internal factors a process element to better describe policy process behind foreign policy-making. The pragmatism in policy process framework seeks in the ensuing sections to articulate: how pragmatism is manifested at different policy stages, the dynamics of structural and agential factors in complex policy environments. In the international formulation stage, pragmatism sets in after the national position has been declared, in the form of rapid feedback loops as part of national evaluation. In the international decision-making stage, this is similar to domestic decision-making where compromise is sought through various techniques between stakeholders, with the exception that there are many diverse stakeholders in the international dimension.
