Foreign Policy Analysis

lspri2080  2019-2020  Louvain-la-Neuve

Foreign Policy Analysis
Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
5 credits
30.0 h
Q1
Teacher(s)
Struye de Swielande Tanguy;
Language
English
Main themes
The course examines (a) The history and evolution of foreign policy theories; (b) Foreign policy decision-taking: politico-administrative processes, relations between foreign policy and internal affairs, influence of interest groups, different schools ; (c) The dimensions of foreign policy : strategic-diplomatic dimension, external trade relations, external cultural relations, ethical aspects ; (d) The different conceptions of power and the notion of Small, medium and Great ; (e) The analysis model likely to apply to the foreign policies of those " power Nations ".
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 At the end of this course, the student will - Have increased his analysis and critical thinking skills in the field of foreign policy, in general ; - Through the analysis of case studies o (a) He/she will master the elaboration and execution process of a foreign policy (taking into ac-count several factors of influence) ; o (b) He/she will have a good knowledge of the content and institutional mechanisms of the foreign policy of different states.
 

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Content
The course analyses the decision-making process in international affairs. The first part will study the numerous actors (state and non-state actors, subnational, transnational, supranational) that participate in the foreign policy of a state. The second part will examine the decision-making process itself. This central part of the course will look, based on multiple theories at the rational model and its biases (cognition, bureaucracy, culture, groupthink, polythink, idiosyncrasies, heuristic and so on). The final part the course will study the characteristics of small, middle and great powers. The course is illustrated by numerous examples as Russia, United States, France, United Kingdom,'
Bibliography
  • Powerpoint
Cl. Roosens, V. Rosoux et T. de Wilde, La politique étrangère. Le modèle classique à l'épreuve, Peter Lang, 2004 ;
Tanguy Struye de Swielande, La politique étrangère de l'Administration Bush, analyse de la prise de décision (2001-2005),Coll. CECRI,P.IE.- Peter-Lang, Bruxelles (2007). (304 p.)
Textes sur moodle
Teaching materials
  • Powerpoint
Faculty or entity
PSAD


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Master [60] in Political Sciences: General

Master [120] in Political Sciences: International Relations