Applicability of International Practice Theory in Foreign Policy Analysis

Description

Objective is to study application of International practice theory for analyzing foreign policy in international relations literature. Methods: Literature review covering literature on International practice theory, constructivist theory of international relations and foreign policy analysis. Results International practice theory (IPT), first elaborated by Emanuel Adler and Vincent Pouliot, offers new perspective for analysis of world politics. Students of practice theory analyze everyday practices of actors involved in international relations, for example heads of state, diplomats or nongovernmental actors. Practices tend to be patterned, as they tend to exhibit certain regularities. This is especially important in the context of foreign policy decision making, where roles of different domestic actors are outlined in laws and rules, thus providing pattern for practices. But as not all activities of actors are strictly regulated, the focus on practices can provide deeper insight on how and why foreign policy decisions are shaped in particular way. Conclusions Practices are competent performances that construct specific foreign policy decisions of domestic actors within states and of overall foreign policy of state. By focusing on practices of specific actors and interplay between them, practice theory can complement existing theories and approaches to foreign policy analysis. Value of practice theory lies in opportunity to discover why foreign policy outcomes may differ from those intended by specific actors or prescribe by other theories. At the same time, due to its focus on practices by specific actors the conclusions of analysis may be limited only to specific study case or cases. . .. .. .

Period	29 Mar 2023
Event title	RSU Research week 2023: PLACES
Event type	Conference
Conference number	3
Organiser	Rīga Stradiņš University
Location	Rīga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International