Foreign Policy & National Interests

Conceptual:

Sovereignty

making the determination and protection of national interests the key operational dictate and definition of sovereignty :

Interest

Base meaning: raison d'etat (state of reason)

National Interests:

Vital Interests:

represent the hierarchical values that states have

sovereignty dictates that the interests a state has are its most important concern

Preserving the state is the highest supreme interest

preserving and promoting is the the heart of international conflicts and their resolution

Controversial

Conditions for a interest to be a national issue is general or vague

Often up for debate

National Security

the most vital national interest (protecting the nation from harm)

reasons why an interest might not be one:

The issue may not be really important enough for this elevation

the position the advocate has on the issue may or may not be the best way to attain the goal

Intersubjectivity/objectivity

whether all observers can view the same phenomenon in the same way

Questions of national interest:

Core: a statement of truth

Whether the issue is in fact a matter of interest and what degree. of importance should be attached to doing something about it

Prescription for appropriate action to alleviate whether problem the situation

1st observation: Its truth or falsity can be demonstrated objectively

Optimizing:

Vital Interests (VIs)

Less-than-vital (LTVs)

conditions that. are so important to the state that it will not willingly compromise on their attainment.

reaching conditions maybe out of reach for the state

matters of descending but lesser importance to the state that would cause varying but not basic discomfort or inconvenience to the state and whose non-realization may not be entirely intolerable

It is important to tell the difference between the 2

are worth going to potential war for

normally do not justify the resources to use force

Not all entail challenges to national survival, but are important enough that states will engage in serious efforts for it

ex: border disputes

Content of Interest:

Hierarchically arranged

All situations are unique thus needs some type of judgements to be made

Questions asked:

Into what pair of categories from the matrix does an individual situation fall?

How important is it?

What quality of actions are justifiable to realize the affected interest and which are not?

Issues at lower levels have less priority and importance

Generally agreed upon

Objects come from both sides

Individual Interests

International interests

conditions and actions that contribute to or detract from maximum survivability and prosperity for everyone

the most important of which center on individual human rights and the conditions that maximize (or minimize) the survival and prosperity of individuals

Represent an extension of arguments for popular sovereignty that. can be endangered by an unfettered pursuit of national interests in several ways

ex: when 2 countries cannot compromise

a concern and a source of international tension and disagreement particularly when efforts to pursue national interests results in international effects that both make the disagreement over national interests greater and endanger the interests of humankind as a whole

Security dilemma

the clash between national and international interest levels

There is a lot conflict and competition in raising a national issue to supremacy

Real World examples:

United States & Saudi Arabia

United States

Preferences:

the minimization of Soviet/Russian Influence

guarantee access to adequate petroleum resources at a reasonable and stable price

Safety and sanctity in a religiously hostile region

Suppressing regional sources of terrorism

Saudi Arabia

Sees US as:

valuable source of military acquisition

prime provider of protection for the kingdom from its enemies

Oil customer

heavily depends on the US

Differences

Differences:

Similarities

More economically diverse

Both countries are similar economically

SA

US

per capita GDP: $59500

per capita GDP: $54800

economy depends on petroleum

Important to the world

"Buy" their influence from oil wealth

Importance comes from the oil demand in the world

has smaller and less diverse population

33 million people

37% was immigrants

Immigrants and non-muslims are not able to apply for citizenship

90% of people are Arab

85-90% of them are Sunnis

Country size: 830,000 sq mi

1.6% is farmable

Has 3 largest population in the world

Gov't

Absolutist monarchy

king exercises political power like the middle ages

State Religion: Wahhabism

an more conservative and evangelical form of islam

There is an alliance bet/w the house of Saud and Wahhabis (can lead to corruption for ruling the country)

Many views can be radically anti-western & anit-america

Religion is separated from the state