Systems Thinking and Culture in International Relations: A Foreign Policy Approach
Institution: | University of Ottawa |
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Department: | |
Year: | 2016 |
Keywords: | Foreign Policy Analysis; International Relations; Systemic Theories; Systems Theory; Culture; Constructivism; Neorealism; Structure; International System; International Environment; Domestic Environment; Political Science |
Posted: | 02/05/2017 |
Record ID: | 2074473 |
Full text PDF: | http://hdl.handle.net/10393/34829 |
The mainstream theories of international relations (IR) can be categorized under two approaches: Cultural and Systems. Although the two approaches appear to be at the opposite ends of the spectrum, this paper aims to evaluate both approaches, and to provide a systemic approach to foreign policy: The systems thinking and culture (STC). STC attempts to incorporate domestic culture, a unit-level force, in analyzing states’ behavior in the international system, while still preserving the structure, as emphasized in systemic theories like neorealism. The STC model shows how the domestic culture as a unit-level force, and the structure as a systems-level force, can shape a state’s behavior and policies in the international political system.