Foreign policy of a
country is its government's strategy to deal with other nations/countries in
the world. This strategy is based purely on "National Interests"
which can broadly be classified into two categories namely, National Defense
and Economic Development. Before getting into relationship with any nation, one
looks for its National Interest therein. However there are numerous
determinants of foreign policy.
Major
Determinants of Foreign Policy:
Geography:
Geography of state is one of the most important, permanent and stable factor of
its countries. Geography persists of topography of land, fertility and location
and climates. Geopolitics is the specified term for the foreign policy
including geographical elements into consideration. The foreign policies of
coastal states are quite different than that of Sea or Barren/landlocked
states.
Topography sometimes helps in defense system, so the
importance is considerable in designing foreign policy. The Afghan foreign
policy is the best example of such element where there are mountains and the
country is landlocked. Because of this United States and Russian attacks were
failed to invade Afghanistan.
England is the large Island so the foreign policy is
based mostly on trade with other nations through ships and is focused merely on
the development of their Navy Force. In 1860-1900 England opted "policy of
splendid isolation" because of no neighboring country so avoided to make
alliances with other nations for as long as 40 years.
Neighborhood:
Neighborhood is another important aspect of foreign policy that plays a
significant role is designing foreign policy. For instance, the neighboring
countries of Pakistan are India and Afghanistan, so the threat of war and
terrorism is from both sides persists. In this situation Pakistan has opted
Neo-Realism approach to make the balance of power in the region by producing
more nuclear weapons. In addition to this, Pakistan's foreign policy also
contains the resolution of Kashmir-Issue which is disputed with India.
Though the threats are there for War and Terrorism from
India and Afghanistan, the foreign policy of Pakistan is still way too
submissive because Pakistan aims to create peace and economical prosperity in
the region without putting anyone in trouble. The KASA and TAPI agreements are
proves of Pakistan's intentions towards peace and free-trade between
neighboring countries but because of political instability in Afghanistan such
programs are jeopardized.
However on the other hand, Pakistan has China as a friendly
neighbor so the foreign policy of Pak-China is quite different than that of
Indo-Pak. China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the evidence of their friendly
relations and mutually beneficial projects for trade, regional
economic-prosperity and peace.
Military
Capabilities: Military capabilities of a nation
definitely influence its foreign policy. Powerful nations design more active
and aggressive foreign policies. Bush Doctrine -- America can undergo in
preemptive attacks if it feels threatened and unsecured by any nation/country.
However, this doctrine is clearly violation of Article 2(4) of UN Charter, but
the advocates and followers of this doctrine (known as New-Conservatives)
present Article 51 of UN Charter that elaborates the conditions in which a
country may attack another country in self-defense.
Military capabilities help countries defining whether go
for a war or not, which reflects the insight of foreign policy with so state.
Saddam Hussein (Iraq) attacked Kuwait, and at that time the Iraq had 4th
largest army in the world. So his military capability defined the foreign
policy and attack. In the same manners other countries like Russia, America and
Israel attacked some countries just because of their military capabilities.
Economic
Capabilities: It is an established fact the rise and
fall of great powers is linked to the rise and fall of their economies. Broadly
speaking, there are two major economic factors that affect foreign policy.
Level and nature of Economic
Development: Generally, the more economically
developed a state is the more likely it is to play an active role in global
political economy. Rich states have more interests beyond their borders and
typically posses the means to pursue and protect them. This is the reason the
China and America are relatively active than any other country of the world.
These can use foreign aid as a tool for securing their foreign policy goals.
The
industrial estates are more likely to be active too in the world politics
because of their international trade and relations. More industrialization
means strong economy; strong economy leads to strong military capabilities and
eventually supremacy. America is the best example of this since it combines
both the strongest economy and military of world, hence active player in global
politics.
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