This paper discusses the limitations of the rational unitary actor model in explaining foreign policy today.
Written in 2009; 1,227 words; 4 sources; MLA; $ 41.95
Paper Summary:
The paper relates that since the establishment of the modern sate through the treaty of Westphalia, the rational unitary actor model has dominated foreign policy. The paper then discusses how today, although states are still important actors, the international system has become far more complex in the modern era, with the political process model, two-level game and misperception impacting foreign policy. The paper asserts that it is only by studying all the factors important in foreign policy theory that students and scholars of international relations will be able to predict and solve international problems in the future.
From the Paper:
"In 1648, the Treaty or Peace of Westphalia revolutionized foreign policy by replacing the system of feudal kingdoms with sovereign states. With this treaty, the modern political system was formed, a system in which sovereign nations develop their own foreign policy, yet act together on an international plane. The treaty was also institutional in creating the rational unitary actor model, which now serves as the predominate theory of foreign policy. Essentially, the theory espouses that states are the sovereign, predominate actors in the world. Not only are they primary actors, but also they are also rational actors that make choices in their self-interest by employing the economic idea of cost-benefit analyses. According to the rational unitary actor model, states experience conflict because their self-interests collide with other states' self interests and each state's cost-benefit analysis confirms that entering into conflict over the matter is worthwhile. Because the states are sovereign, each has the authority to make this decision without necessarily considering the needs of other states."
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