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This is a compelling and rewarding book that makes one wonder why it was not written years ago. Using an explicit conceptualization, rich detail, and a wide range of historical illustrations to depict an analytic focus that has preoccupied observers for a long time, Hudson has done a masterful job of synthesizing diverse materials that will be of great value in both the classroom and policymaking circles.--Rosenau, James N.
Product Description
"Foreign Policy Analysis Classic and Contemporary Theory" is the first textbook to gear foreign policy analysis theory toward advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students. Beginning with an overview of this broad field of study, the book's subsequent chapters tackle theory and research at multiple levels of analysis, ending with examination of the areas in which the next generation of foreign policy analysts can make important contributions to the field.
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2 reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
A hit and miss affair !
1 Jun 2008
I was quite excited to get this book, because the title corresponds directly with a graduate International Relations course that I am teaching. Foreign Policy Analysis is a rather broad subject and as the author points out correctly can be approached from a number of ways and methodologies. This book is certainly good in the sense that being published in 2007 it is really up to date on virtually all the main areas that it covers; the writers knowledge of the subject matter is also rather impressive.
But the problems begin with the fact that reading it is not easy, this is mainly due to a verbose style and even more so the tendency of the author too often tell us which parts of the subject are still open to being explored, hence written on, where accordingly not much research has been done. In this sense culture is often depicted as being primarily overlooked in the field of F.P. As the author writes whenever something can't be explained the observers usually referred to culture as the unexplainable X Factor of F.P. These rather unexplored topics are perhaps relevant for professors and lecturers who are specifically research prone in the area of that topic, but for all others (teachers and students alike) this type of information seems rather superflorous, and the authors seemlingly constant raving about how esp. culture should be given more attention has some annoying tendency, which promts one almost to exclaim, 'well then why don't you take up this great idea and added to your research agenda.'
But the main bone of contention with this book is simply the fact that there is to little theory in it altogether. By that I mean specifically the theories and models around decision making, which is a important and big part of foreign policy! Here the book has been a solid disappointment for me, eager to find some theories and models on decision making I soon realized that this was not the book for it. Thus, important concepts like Bounded Reality, Satisficing, Rational Choice, the unitary actor model, cognitive dissonance (Selective Perception), Prospect theory, Groupthink, the Oganizational model, and Procedural Rationality were either not at all explained or only (very) briefly discussed. What was covered in a rather lengthy style was the Bureaucratic Politics model, and to some extent the Rational Actor model. For a book of this type written by what seems to be a rather renowned academic, I believe that these are serious short-comings. Fact of the matter is that F.P. Analysis cannot be explained without a solid theoretical foundation.
On the whole then, I find this book to lengthy and verbose on most parts and unfortunately on those parts that are most important (i.e. Theory) lacking in length and information.
But the problems begin with the fact that reading it is not easy, this is mainly due to a verbose style and even more so the tendency of the author too often tell us which parts of the subject are still open to being explored, hence written on, where accordingly not much research has been done. In this sense culture is often depicted as being primarily overlooked in the field of F.P. As the author writes whenever something can't be explained the observers usually referred to culture as the unexplainable X Factor of F.P. These rather unexplored topics are perhaps relevant for professors and lecturers who are specifically research prone in the area of that topic, but for all others (teachers and students alike) this type of information seems rather superflorous, and the authors seemlingly constant raving about how esp. culture should be given more attention has some annoying tendency, which promts one almost to exclaim, 'well then why don't you take up this great idea and added to your research agenda.'
But the main bone of contention with this book is simply the fact that there is to little theory in it altogether. By that I mean specifically the theories and models around decision making, which is a important and big part of foreign policy! Here the book has been a solid disappointment for me, eager to find some theories and models on decision making I soon realized that this was not the book for it. Thus, important concepts like Bounded Reality, Satisficing, Rational Choice, the unitary actor model, cognitive dissonance (Selective Perception), Prospect theory, Groupthink, the Oganizational model, and Procedural Rationality were either not at all explained or only (very) briefly discussed. What was covered in a rather lengthy style was the Bureaucratic Politics model, and to some extent the Rational Actor model. For a book of this type written by what seems to be a rather renowned academic, I believe that these are serious short-comings. Fact of the matter is that F.P. Analysis cannot be explained without a solid theoretical foundation.
On the whole then, I find this book to lengthy and verbose on most parts and unfortunately on those parts that are most important (i.e. Theory) lacking in length and information.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Spot on
16 Feb 2011
This book is exactly what I needed for my study of Foreign Policy Analysis. It does a great job of looking to where the field has been and where it is going.
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