Dynamism Defines Foreign Policy

Countries are like individuals. No single country resembles the other. States are different from one another on various accounts – physical size, geographical position, geopolitical significance, economic strength, military power and other characteristics. There are 193 countries in the world. The United Nations, however, has 195 members, of which 193 are full members while two - the Holy See and the State of Palestine — are non-member observer states of the United Nations. Some other entities claim to be sovereign states but they are not recognised as by the international community and are not allowed to join the UN despite their attempt and lobbying. 

The world is like a small global village owing mainly to greater economic and technological connectivity. No single country in the world is fully self-reliant on all accounts and they are, in one way or the other, dependent on others for various reasons. Countries thus cannot survive and prosper in isolation no matter how big, powerful and developed one might be in terms of physical size, economic strength and military power. Thus, relations and cooperation with other countries are necessary for the survival as well as development of a country. 

Concept nationhood 

This is how foreign policy and diplomacy evolved in the world right from the time when the concept of nationhood started in Mesopotamia as early as 4000 BCE. Sumerian kingdom is believed to be the first state in the world that was founded as early as 4500 BCE. The origin of foreign policy also dates back to the Sumerian era. The Amarna Letters (El Amarna) in the 14th century BCE, which are the clay tablets documenting diplomatic correspondence between the Pharaoh (king) of Egypt and other rulers in the neighbourhood, are the early examples of foreign relations in the world. 

In the early era till the 17th century, foreign policy was not clearly defined and the interest of the rulers was interpreted as the interest of the country. Territorial expansion and its defence was the primary goal of the rulers and regime in the external front, in which military capability was the central instrument. The foreign policy and diplomacy of a state begin at its border and expand far and wide with no limit. However, with the passage of time, trade, travel and other interactions at the people’s level required a set of policy harmonisation and cooperation among different states, which was later defined as foreign policy. 

The foreign policy of countries is a set of policy instruments to instruct diplomats assigned abroad. However, the Westphalia peace treaty that ended the Thirty Years War in Europe is said to be the defining moment in the history of foreign policy and diplomacy in the world. The Westphalia treaty established the principle of state sovereignty that delegitimised external interference in any country. The Westphalian arrangement, in principle, marked the end of the ‘might is right’ era and established certain moral principles in the conduct of international relations and foreign policy. However, it still left a big lacuna in the fair conduct of foreign policy in a practical sense as power continued to have sway over other things.  

The necessity of cooperation among nation states gave rise to the evolution of foreign policy and diplomacy in the world. Foreign policy is a part of national policy. In other words, foreign policy is said to be the extension of domestic policy. It is true that the domestic policy guides and shapes the foreign policy of a country. However, this might not always be the case. Sometimes, events and developments in the neighbourhood and international arena may have repercussions in the domestic policy of a country. There are instances that countries have either lost their independence or their political course has taken a paradigm shift due to developments in the external fronts. Thus, the domestic policy and foreign policy often intertwine, which cannot be separated in many cases. 

The United Nations was created in 1945 in the aftermath of the devastating World War II. The creation of the UN was the most defining development in the history and evolution of international relations and diplomacy. One of the fundamental objectives of the creation of the UN is to prevent war in the world. Although the world continues to witness different kinds of wars between states and non-states, the UN has at least succeeded in preventing another world war or World War III.  The United Nations is a world government that has established the principle of sovereign equality among all its members irrespective of size and other status. 

Countries may be big or small, developed or developing, powerful or weak, but all countries are equal in rights and status. However, the UN still has flaws and it needs to be reformed in its structure and decision-making. The principal goal of the foreign policy of any country is to promote and defend national interest. In international relations, no country is a permanent friend and permanent enemy. What is permanent in international relations is the national interest. National interest defines friends and foes in international politics and countries accordingly pursue their foreign policy. Different strategies, tactics and tools are applied to defend and promote national interest abroad, which are part and parcel of the foreign policy.

Tactics 

There are hard and soft tactics and tools of foreign policy. Military war, sanctions, propaganda, technological and trade wars are some of the hard and coercive instruments of foreign policy. However, diplomacy is the preferred option. In war and other coercive tactics, both sides suffer while all parties in conflict gain in diplomacy that seeks to settle the disputes through negotiation in a peaceful manner. 

The national interests of countries are permanent, whereas the methods and approaches to achieve and protect the national interest abroad may change depending upon time, context and national, regional and international situations. Foreign policy tools and tactics also change accordingly. It is, therefore, a dynamic affair marked by both continuity and change. The fundamental principles of foreign policy, however, remain unchanged as they are guided by the national interests but diplomatic tactics and tricks vary and are dictated by time, context and circumstances. 

(The author is former chief editor of this daily and former ambassador. lamsalyubanath@gmail.com)