Foreign policy analysis: from little acorn to giant oak

That Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) enjoyed central place in the early study of international relations (IR) can be considered as the starting point for understanding the evolution of this major sub-field. An analysis of the role of foreign policy in different conceptual frameworks points to its centrality for realists but its diminished saliency for pluralists and structuralists. The balance of interacting influences between those who aspire to ‘truth’ (academics) and those whose concern is with ‘power’ (practitioners) is crucial if we are to understand for whom FPA is relevant and their needs, and the uses to which it is put. Does FPA reflect or determine policy? What does FPA have to say about current global problems? Precious little is the response. In the United States (US) this is in part due to a dismaying parochialism. But others in Europe have broken out of the traditional mould and new approaches are developing beyond the Western world. Moreover, a role for FPA still remains in the analysis of the effects of spanning boundaries.