FPDM: Agents, Structures, and Status

Abstract

This chapter examines the politics of foreign policies within the Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) debate. It is concerned with various interpretations of what defines FPA, tracing different angles with which scholars envisioned the understanding of foreign policy processes and outcomes. Particular notions of FPDM are presented as the main theoretical tools required to explain the end of the Beagle crisis. It suggests that the easiest way of grasping what this book means by FPA is to examine the distinctions IR scholars have drawn between explanations emphasizing agency versus structure; domestic versus international factors; or the close analysis of decision making, perception, and status. The aim thus is to identify actor motivation during the crisis by adopting an actor-specific approach. In brief, a focus on agency means ascribing significance to process—the way decisions are made and executed.