Chapter Two:

Understanding Foreign Policy and

Diplomacy
2.1. Understanding National Interest (NI).
• NI is the reason of state which determines the actions and policy
of a given state towards other states.
• NI refers to set of values, orientation, goals and objectives that a
given country would like to achieve in its international relations.

• NI is an image of the future state of affairs and set of conditions

that governments aspire to achieve through their policy to wards
other countries (A. K. Holsti).
• NI is set of purposes which a nation should seek to realize in the
conduct of its foreign relations (Seabury).
 Criteria for defining national
interest.
• Identifying national interest is not an easy task.
• Multiple and conflicting criteria may compete for priority over the
others in the minds of the decision maker.
• There are several criteria for identifying NI.
• operational philosophy,
• moral and legal criteria,
• pragmatic criteria,
• ideological criteria,
• professional advancement,
2.2. Understanding Foreign
Policy and Foreign Policy
Behaviors
• FP is a sets of objectives and instruments that a state
adopts to guide its relation with the outside world.
• It involves the general purposes and specific strategies
a state employs to achieve or promote its national
interest.
• It encompasses specific strategies and instruments,
economic and diplomatic tools that states employ to
achieve their goals and objectives.
2.2.2. Foreign Policy Objectives
• FP objectives can be grouped into:
1. Core Interests and Values/Short Range Objectives
2. Middle Range Objectives
3. Long range goals
1. Core Interests and Values/Short Range Objectives
• Consist of goals which states commit their very existence
and that must be preserved or extended at all time.
• Are goals for which most people are willing to make
ultimate sacrifices.
• Are uncompromised goals.
• E.g. territorial integrity of state.
2. Middle Range Objectives
• Are objectives states want to achieve next to primary objectives.
• Can varies from country to country.
• May include actions that could affect the domestic economic and
social welfare.
• E.g. Economic development and social welfare
3. Long- Range Objectives
• Are called universal goals that all states are committed to adhere.
• Include those plans, dreams, and visions concerning;
• the political or ideological organization of the international
system,
• Rules governing relations in IS.
 2.2.3. Foreign Policy Behavior: Patterns
and Trends
FP Behavour
• FP bvr of state in IS not constant.
• It varies from time to time and from regime to regime.
• But, there are three genera paterns/models of FP bvr in IS:
1. Self preservations or maintaining status qeu.
• Keeping one's position in the system.
• Mostly followede by developed and strong states which have achieved
better position in IS
• eg:-USA
2. Self-extension/revising statuesque in one's own favour
• influencing the system toward self benefits.
• Followed by emmerging countries wanting significant position in the
system.
• Eg:- China, German, India and Britian.
 2.2.4 Dimension of FP
Three dimentions are there:-
1. Aligniment Formation
There are three allainimentandencies.
 Alliance:- formally agreeing to cooperate on any issues.
 Neutrality:- remain non-partisan to any block formed in the system.
 Non-neutrality:- avoiding both blocks and forming an other alternative form of
cooperation in the system.
2. Scope
 Scope of activities of astate
 Do they participate t a global and regional level
3 Mode of Opperand/Opperation.
 It focuses on how opperate in IS.
 Do states opperate in the system multilaterally (focusing on various issues) or
 Foreign Policy
There are two main instruments of FP
1 Depolomacy:-
• Formal and peaceful tools of FP.
• Form dialogue made between two states to purcue their own interests.
• Kind of bargain, persuasion, and maneuver conducted by states.
2 Economic Instruments:-
• Economic tools an other instrument of FP
• Economic power can be used to achieve states FP objectives.
• States may reward or punish states through the manipulation of economic
policies like:- - tariffs & quotas
- boycotts & combargos
- aids & loans/credits.
3.3 Overview of Ethiopian Foraign Policy
1. Foraign Policy During Tewodros II (1855--1868)
Tewodros's FP
His Objectives of FP:-
• Recoginition of the country as a:
- Christian state
- Modern state
• Deffending of islam
• Building militarily a strong state.
His FP tools and base
Founded on religius base:-
• Religion was used as atool of persausion for his FP objectives.
• He focused on defending his country againist islamic.
• His FP leaning towards christian europian countries, like:- Britian, France, & Russia.
• He wanted these countries to support him in his fight to defend his country against to
3.3.2 Foreign Policy During Yohannis
II(1889--93)
• His FP largly focused on defending the territorial integrity of
the country.
• He viewed territorial integrity of the country being
threatened by :-
- Isilamic invasion
- Europian expansionist power
• His FP thus, focused on defending his country from Isilamic
and western countries invesion.
• He fought three battles (two with Egyptian forces in 1875
and 1876 at Gundet and Gura and One with Sudanese
Mehadist movement) during his reign.
3.3.3 FP During Minilik II (1889--
93)
• His policy objectives towards external countries was based on:-
1 Territorial integrity.
2 Access to sea out let.
• War and deplomacy characterized his external relation with European
expansionist power.
• He found Italy as a biggest threat to his country integrity.
• In an efforts to defend territorial integrity of the country. He used:-
- Deplomatic and
- War/direct military confrontation.
• Deplomatical and he signed Wuchale treat, But failed.
• Militarily, he fought with Italy at the battle of Adowa in 1896.
 3.3.4 Emperor Haile Silasie FP
* X- tics of his period:-
• Growing interest of Italian government to inved Ethiopia.
• Formation of League of Nation (LN)
• H/Silasie's exile to Britian and forming of governiment in exile there.
• The WW II and the defeat of Italy.
• Establishement of UN.
• Emmergency of the USA as and USSR global supper power.
• The oppening of cold war between global supper power states and their
interest to curtail each others idiology.
• Decolonization and indipendence of African states.
• Formation of OAU.
• His FP in one way or other was been influenced by the above factors.
• His policy towards external countries was based on:-
1 Defending territorial integrity of the country.
2 Building a modernized and militarily strong country.
3 Increasing Ethiopia role in international and regional communities.
1 thiopia provided military assistance to UN as part of UN peace keepingforce in
korea in 1951 and in Congo in 1961.
• To do so, He made several FP measures to respect and there by acheive the
national interest of the country.
• Part of these were:-
1 Representing and defending Ethiopia's national interest in international
communities (LG, UN).
2 Making deplomatic negotiations initial with Great Britain and later on awith
a USA.
• He got huge assistance to build strong military power from both countries
 3.3.5 Derg's FP
FP Objectives
• Survival of regime.
• Maintaining territorial integrity of the country.
Foundation of FP
• His FP was founded on socialist idiology.
• His FP with neighboring country largely depended on defending
boundary of the country.
• His established good deplomatic relation with socialist countries.
• Russia and Cuba were his most friendly countries.
• Ethiopia's strategic location in Horn Africa helped the Derg to bethe
best ally of USSR.
 3.3.6 EPRDF Foreign Policy
• FP Goels is to insured:-
1 Survival of the states.
2 Rapid economic developiment and establishing
viable democratic system.
• Its FP is gaided by meeting democratic, economic and
poletical problems.
• Countries and internationa institutions cable meeting
these problems are carefully identified.
• Economic deplomacy is largely used as too of FP.
• East Asian countries were highly focused up on.
 IPE is a sub-discipline of international
relations that analyses connections
between the world’s international
political and economic systems.
 field of inquiry that studies the ever-
changing relationships between
governments, businesses, and social
forces across history and in different
geographical areas.
Theory of
1. Literalism:
IPE • Supports the idea of free market system
• There are three such as;
• free trade/trade liberalization
dominant theories of • free flow of financial and Foreign Direct
IPE. Investment (FDI).
1.liberalism, • Limits government interference in economy.
2.Marxism, and 2. Mercantilism:
3.Nationalism • Supports protectionist economy.
• Allows state intervention in the economy.
(mercantilism)
• It supports; the regulation of trade, the
limitation of imports and the subordination
of economic life to the state
• It aimed at increasing a state’s economic
power.
3. Marxist theory
 It sees class conflict between bourgeois
owners and proletarian workers as the
fundamental driver of human history.
 Although humans can be very nice
individually, they are combative when put
into groups.
 Thus, the economy is a struggle between the
two main economic ‘groups’: the classes.
 The bourgeoisie oppresses the proletariat by
 The proletariat, meanwhile, tries to
overturn the unequal distribution of
economic power.
 But, their attempts may be limited by the
political and cultural superstructure that
bourgeois leaders create to support their
position in the economy such as;
o legal systems that limit workers’ rights,
o taxation systems that transfer public
 Thus, it prescribes
revolution is needed for
better international society.
 Only a full-scale revolt can
overturn the base and
superstructure of the
capitalist world system,
 Other theories of IPE
1. Hegemonic Stability Theory (HST):
• it is a hybrid theory containing elements of
mercantilism, liberalism, and even Marxism.
• Calls for a benevolent hegemon to look
after global economic activities.
• Argues that the cause of the economic troubles that
have been attacked the world lack of a benevolent
hegemon/ a dominant state willing and able to take
 2. Structuralism:
o It is a variant of the Marxist perspective.
o It challenges the specific structural problems of
capitalist economy.
o The capitalist system created a kind of dependency
r/n ship between the Global North and the Global
South.
o it is called as Prebisch-Singer thesis.
o It advocates a new pattern of development based on
 3. Developmental State Approach:
• It is a variant of mercantilism.
• It allows state interference in economy.
• Argues state shall guides the direction and pace of economic
development.
• It has the following core features;
• Strong interventionism
• Existence of bureaucratic apparatus to provide effective
service to the planned process of development.
• Active participation of the private sector
International
economic
1. WTO
institutions • negotiating on trade liberalization.
• There three dominant • Management of international trade.
international organizations
governing international 2.WB
economic system • facilitating post war
• These are; European reconstruction.
• WTO • Providing development
• WB assistance around the world.
• IMF 3.IMF
• ensuring a stable exchange
rate regime
• provision of emergency
financial assistance to states