A country's foreign policy is a set of political goals that seeks to outline how that particular country will interact with other countries of the world and, to a lesser extent, non-state actors. Foreign policies generally are designed to help protect a country's national interests, national security, ideological goals, and economic prosperity. This can occur as a result of peaceful cooperation with other nations, or through aggression, war, and exploitation. It may be assumed that foreign policy is as ancient as the human society itself. The twentieth century saw a rapid rise in the importance of foreign policy, with virtually every nation in the world now being able to interact with one another in some diplomatic form. A state is a set of institutions that possess the authority to make the rules that govern the people in one or more societies, having internal and external sovereignty over a definite territory. ... Politics is the process by which groups make decisions. ... In political geography and international politics a country is a geographical entity, a territory, most commonly associated with the notions of state or nation. ... The national interest, often referred to by the French term raison détat, is a countrys goals and ambitions whether economic, military, or cultural. ... Security measures taken to protect the Houses of Parliament in London, England. ... According to “Building Black Wealth In America” prosperity is that point where all reasonable wealth accumulation goals are exceeded for successive generations, it is the epitome of financial stability, reliability, and security. ... Look up war in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Diplomat redirects here. ...

Nominally, creating foreign policy is usually the job of the head of government and the foreign minister (or equivalent). In some countries the legislature also has considerable oversight. As an exception, in France, Finland and in America, it is the head of state who is responsible for foreign policy, while the head of government mainly deals with internal policy. The Head of Government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. ... A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the governmental foreign policy of a sovereign nation. ... A legislature is a type of deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ... Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State of 16 countries including: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand and the Bahamas, as well as crown colonies and overseas territories of the United Kingdom. ...

In fact, foreign policy is a product of pressure from various groups and classes, political as well as economic. In many countries, foreign policy ranks high on the list of factors that influence public opinion. Public Opinion is a book on media and democracy by Walter Lippmann. ...

International relations theory

Main article: International relations theory

International relations have been studied and analyzed for centuries, and can partially explain the foreign policy of particular states. However note that International Relations Theory tries to explain the interaction in the international system between all states (and possibly non-state actors) and does not take into account the specific characteristics of particular states. Main International Relations Theories and derivates Realism & Neorealism Idealism, Liberalism & Neoliberalism Marxism & Dependency theory Functionalism & Neofunctionalism Critical theory & Constructivism International relations theory attempts to provide a conceptual model upon which international relations can be analyzed. ... Non-state actors, in international relations, are actors on the international level which are not states. ...

The sub-discipline that specialises in the study of foreign policy is known as foreign policy analysis (FPA). Foreign policy analysis (FPA) is the systematic study of and research into the processes and theories of foreign policy. ...

See also

• Foreign affairs
• Foreign minister
• Ambassador
• Diplomacy
• International relations
• Public policy
• Foreign policy doctrine

This article is about a journal. ... A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the governmental foreign policy of a sovereign nation. ... An ambassador, rarely embassador, is a diplomatic official accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of his or her own country. ... Diplomat redirects here. ... International relations (IR), a branch of political science, is the study of foreign affairs of and relations among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). ... Public policy is a course of action or inaction chosen by public authorities to address a problem. ... A foreign policy doctrine is a general statement of foreign policy. ...

External links

• Foreign Policy Association
• International Affairs Forum
• InfoRel - Brazilian online newspaper on International Relations and Brazilian foreign policy. In Portuguese
• Teaching Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era
• The National Committee on American Foreign Policy
• Foreign Policy Studies @ The Brookings Institution