Essay On Foreign Policy

The process of drafting a foreign policy involves decision making which is crucial to take actions to make changes in the world and these actions are monitored and evaluated based on the feedback to assess the efficacy of decision making. There are four models such as rational model, bureaucratic model, organizational model and conceptual model which can best explain the foreign policy. The theory of rationality or rational actor model comes from the assumption that rational decision making is important to analyze the action, exchanges and foreign policy between governments, states and non-state entities. This paper will discuss about the importance of rational model in understanding foreign policy.
In rational model, first goals are set by the decision makers and then their relative importance are weighed, costs and benefits of each probable action are calculated and the one with the lowest cost and highest benefits are chosen.In this model, each action has some probable consequences that need to be taken into account. For instance, using pressure tactics on a rival state for making a peace talk would work or backfire? There are some decision makers willing to take risks and some averse to risk. Thus the nature of the decision makers also influences the evaluation of probable outcomes that an action could result.Therefore, to understand the foreign policy, the decision makers first should be taken into consideration because in rational model, the decision of foreign policy of a particular state depends on the people involved in the decision making process.
Learning more about the decision makers and their cognitive behavior, we will be able to relate the rational model to foreign policy decision. Some people believe that there should be some conditions inherent in the decision makers to make a foreign policy in rational model. The decision makers besides being logical should be coherent and consistent in their response to logical argument. They should be updated about new information, be open to arguments and should be able to weigh various probable consequences that may derive from an action.In order to understand how foreign policy is influenced by the actors involved in the decision making process, we need to look into the example of foreign policy taken by Venezuela and Iran. Venezuela and Iran, both are major exporters of oil and both are members of OPEC. In 2007, they formed an alliance under the leadership of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavvez and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad against US Imperialism and oil. Both the countries despite their differences have similar experience of being exploited in oil sector by the imperialist United States and that might be one reason for the two countries to bond against their common enemy, USA.
But over than that, it's the leaders of the two countries who influenced the foreign policy decision. If these two leaders were different, then this foreign policy or bonding against USA might not have taken place. Moreover, their bilateral relations were not possible if both the leaders were not opposed to USA. Venezuelean president Hugo Chavez was full of criticism of neoliberalism, globalization and the foreign policy of the US. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad too was very opposed to the hegemony of US, Israel and UK. Their common hatred for hegemonic US brought them together in the same platform and foreign policy decision of Venezuela and Iran would not have been same if the countries were not led by these two leaders.
In conclusion, foreign policy decision can be understood and explained using rational model as a tool. Rational model which involves a steering decision making process has the actors involved in the decision making playing huge role in deciding the ultimate foreign policy and therefore, in order to understand the importance of rational model in foreign policy making, one needs to learn more about the decision makers who have the power to make the decisions. It is the leaders who set goals, weigh the pros and cons of these goals and make the ultimate choice and without understanding these leaders, the importance of rational model in foreign policy cannot be understood.