Abstract
Foreign policy may be seen either as a state’s policy towards its international environment, or as a part of that international environment — a factor, among others, in the international system. The characteristic which distinguishes foreign policy from domestic policy is that it is intended to affect, and is limited by, factors outside the national political system as well as within it. Students of foreign policy are all agreed in stressing the importance of the international environment in limiting the choice of alternatives available to policy-makers. They are not agreed, however, on how compelling the pressures of external circumstances are — to what extent a nation’s foreign policy is determined by its external position, to what extent still open to choice or to manoeuvre — or on the weight that should be given to external, as opposed to internal, factors in the making of foreign policy.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1971 Government and Opposition
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wallace, W. (1971). The International Environment. In: Foreign Policy and the Political Process. Studies in Comparative Politics. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-01387-6_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-01387-6_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-13305-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-01387-6
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)