Values in Foreign Policy

What a rich harvest! With insight and verve, a constellation of esteemed scholars appraises the charged and sometimes contradictory place national (and transnational) values can play to shape dispositions and decisions by key actors. Truly global in scope, the book reveals how specific, situated patterns guide these discernments and determinations in a world oriented to power, shaped by national particularities, and divided by sovereign boundaries. -- Ira Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University
At a time when rising populism, ‘deal-making’ and transactional diplomacy are widely seen to be in the ascendant, this collection of essays could not be more timely. It is never a simple question of either values or interests when it comes understanding to the conduct and drivers of foreign policy. What is needed is a deeper appreciation of the complex relationship between the two. This is precisely what this stimulating and thought-provoking book offers. -- Mats Berdal, Professor of International Relations, King's College London
With great intellectual verve the contributors to this volume engage with the question of values in a world in which many old certainties about public goods such as democracy and human rights are being questioned as never before. The book provides a very worthy contribution to a critical and ongoing debate. -- Christopher Coker, Professor of International Relations, Director of IDEAS, London School of Economics
This book could not be more timely, given the crisis of values that many nations and regions are experiencing. The diverse and distinguished authors are to be praised and listened to. Their perspectives will help readers in their capacities as citizens of the world. -- Strobe Talbott, Former US Deputy Secretary of State and President of Brookings
Many countries claim to conduct a foreign policy based on moral values or ethical principles. In reality these claims have to compete with international realities, power politics and the unforeseeable. This wide-ranging book reflects the long and distinguished careers of its contributors in the clarity and incisiveness with which it tackles this complex field and establishes the essential elements in a major constituent of foreign policy as conducted in Asia and the West. -- Roger Hervey, Former British Ambassador
Every country decides on its national interests and values and then pursues them pragmatically. You can read what these are in Values in Foreign Policy. You can then judge which countries are better prepared to accept the responsibilities for combating global problems such as accelerating Climate Change, religious and ethnic wars, poverty and mass migration. -- Colin Imray, Former British Ambassador
The question of different countries’ values and how, if at all, they are reflected in foreign policy, is one of great importance for the future world order. Krishnan Srinivasan, a distinguished Indian diplomat, and his co-editors have done us a great service in reaching beyond the usual Western academic suspects and bringing together perspectives on this crucial issue from different parts of the world. -- Edward Mortimer, Fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford
Values in Foreign Policy: Investigating Ideals and Interests discusses value systems lying behind foreign policies of major international players, often touching on their historical and cultural legacies, and compares them with their actual practices and pragmatic adjustments. It contains eighteen contributions of authors specialising in the foreign policies of important countries of Asia and the West. Written in very accessible language, this book is a must-read not only for policy-makers and practitioners of foreign policy, but for all interested in international relations. -- Diwakar Acharya, Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics, University of Oxford
As interest in foreign policy is being reignited and re-imagined to explore the values of multiple nations in an increasingly non-Western world, this is a very timely book. That it is written with an eye to context and fabric, and in language that makes sense to the world beyond the hallowed corridors of technical power, makes it not just timely but an important book for our time. Edited by Krishnan Srinivasan, this is a book that no one with an interest in foreign policy should miss. -- Jeanne-Marie Gescher, Senior Fellow, SOAS China Insititute
Values in Foreign Policy is a significant book. An understanding of values in different continents is critical to successful diplomacy in today’s increasingly interconnected world. The distinguished contributors provide insights of importance to both practitioners and academics. -- Veronica Sutherland, Frrmer British Ambassador and President of Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge
Values in Foreign Policy is about the relation of values to foreign policy. In a rather under-developed area of thinking, the studies in it are timely, clear and illuminating. The Introduction and inter alia, Krishnan Srinivasan’s chapter on India, show a characteristic combination of objectivity, lucidity and mastery. It would be difficult to find a volume with a more subtle understanding of value systems. -- Henry Mary-Harting, Former Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History, University of Oxford
At a time when the virtues of internationalisation and global citizenship are being challenged and borders seem to be narrowing, this is a timely book. In a series of lively essays, this book will be of interest to policy makers, NGOs and all interested in how pragmatism and idealism meet in diplomatic relations. It also contains a valuable critique of post-colonial legacies and how international relations are influenced by religion, culture and history. -- Joanna Newman, Secretary General, Association of Commonwealth Universities, London
At a time of great change and uncertainty in global affairs, the role of values and value systems in national foreign policies will be of crucial significance in moderating or exacerbating international tensions. In this book, a glittering array of scholars and former diplomats offer often startling insights into the nature, content and efficacy of values as they shape and affect the foreign policies of key countries in North America, Europe and, especially, Asia. Both individually and collectively they open up important new perspectives on the past, present and future of international relations. -- Alex May, Senior Research Editor, Dictionary of National Biography, University of Oxford
Values in Foreign Policy shows that, while the external activities of states are often analysed in terms of realpolitik, governments are guided by cultural parameters. This is evident when they claim to promote human rights - or alternatives to these values that are described as ‘western’. But it is also true when rulers do not project any value-based discourse as then they comply unconsciously to some worldview or Weltanschauung. -- Christophe Jaffrelot, Professor, Kings Institute London, Former Director CERI, Sciences Po, Paris
Values in Foreign Policy is a remarkable book with a truly global scope. It is essential reading for anyone trying to understand the value systems in global politics in the 21st century. -- Anders Andrén, Professor, University of Stockholm
This book is a deep journey into the value systems shaping foreign policies around the world. An extremely important contribution today, when the connection between values and policy choices is increasingly confused and blurred. -- Giorgio Barba Navaretti, Professor of Economics, University of Milan
This book convincingly explores the interplay between theory and practice of different values in foreign policy, exemplified by expert studies on several countries in Asia, Europe and North America. The strength of this work lies, inter alia, in the fact that the detailed analyses of ‘Asian’ sets of values, especially when contrasted with ‘the West’, prove the great diversity of value systems in Asia based on their multi-religious background. The book also succeeds in illustrating that modern foreign policy cannot be fully comprehended without substantial historical knowledge of pre-modern Asian and European societies. -- Annette Schmiedchen, Humboldt University, Berlin
The book prompts a rethinking of many assumptions held about the role national values play in shaping a state’s foreign policy. It explores how different countries can apply, export, exploit, ignore and sometimes wilfully controvert the values applied in their domestic policy in pursuit of international objectives. Values in Foreign Policy is an essential guide to both scholars and practitioners of diplomacy, as well an informative and accessible read for anyone with even a passing interest in modern international history. -- Anna Belkina, Deputy Editor in Chief, Russia Today, Moscow
While reading the excellent chapter in Values in Foreign Policy by William J. Antholis on US foreign policy, key words caught my attention; multilateralism, engagement, democracy, and intervention to protect these values. Antholis writes “while the president is the dominant player in setting US foreign policy, he cannot simply act alone.” This reinforces my faith in democracy and it is America which has to provide leadership. -- Sushanta Duttagupta, Professor and Former Vice Chancellor of Viswa Bharati University
The movement towards various forms of global convergence, even if fitful, with many areas fractious and contested, is now a reality for the world community. This pioneering book Values in Foreign Policy on the balance between values and the reality of foreign policy compulsions in different parts of the world, is an essential and vital contribution to an understanding of the forces that will shape this evolution, which both the general reader and the expert will find gripping. You absolutely must buy this watershed publication, or at least make sure to read it. -- Kamalesh Sharma, Former Commonwealth Secretary General
At a time when immediate interests rather than enduring beliefs govern much of interpersonal relations, Values in Foreign Policy: Investigating Ideals and Interests looks at the role of principles in global politics. Carefully unpicking the practices of a host of countries, East and West, the work examines norms in foreign policy discourses and explores the possibility of universal standards in international relations. -- P. R. Kumaraswamy, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
While a good foreign policy should be based on a harmonious mix of national values and national interests, those who frame foreign policy usually know about their own value-systems only, often misreading that of a neighbour or of more far-away countries. This has created a number of conflicts and even wars. Today the world has become a global village, but we still do not understand our neighbours and other nations. This book is important for those who believe that we can make the world better by understanding the values of the ‘other’. Krishnan Srinivasan and his colleagues should be congratulated on this compilation of the different value-systems which lie at the heart of the foreign policies of all countries. -- Claude Arpi, Professor, United Service Institution of India
There is perhaps no riskier proposition in strategic discourse today than attempting to delineate values underlying decision-making in the realm of foreign policy. I commend Krishnan Srinivasan and each author who has contributed to this seminal volume Values in Foreign Policy in providing valuable insights into, and seeking to make sense of, a complex set of variables. A state’s values are not just part of its foreign policy; they are paramount to it. Asia’s modern history is to a large extent about nations adapting their values to contemporaneous realities and attempting to fit the narrative to the circumstances. -- M. K. Narayanan, Former Indian Minister of State and National Security Adviser
In case of a conflict between pragmatism or national interest, and principles or values, the former invariably trumps the latter. Yet governments will try to convince their peoples that they are guided by principles. This book, edited by Krishnan Srinivasan and others, will help readers understand how some countries genuinely want to abide by principles, but pressure from big powers, especially some permanent members of the UN Security Council, obliges them to deviate from their values. In the real world, there are no principles except hard power, military and economic. -- Chinmaya Gharekhan, Former Under Secretary General of the United Nations
The volume represents a timely and effective intervention to address the crucial issue of the relationship between value systems and the pursuit of foreign policy. Drawing upon case studies from all the main world power centres, the chapters reflect contemporary academic attempts to think beyond the age-old debate on the relative importance of ideology and realpolitik in international politics. The volume should be of interest to both practitioners of foreign policy as well as scholars in international relations. -- Suranjan Das, Professor and Vice Chancellor, Jadavpur University, Calcutta
Values in Foreign Policy: Investigating Ideals and Interests brings together, in a garland of ideas, varied analyses by an impressive collection of foreign policy analysts. Foreign policy is necessarily an amalgam of idealism and realism, and the authors demonstrate how these interact with each other in policy formulation and implementation in the real world. A must-read for anyone with curiosity and interest in inter-state relations in the contemporary global matrix. -- Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Former Bangladesh Ambassador and Foreign Minister
One thing is certain: two centuries of Western domination of world history will end soon. Western power will retreat. But will Western values retreat too? And will Eastern values fill the void? Krishnan Srinivasan has produced a timely and insightful volume to guide us as we move into a fascinating new era of human history. A must read for all serious thinkers. -- Kishore Mahbubani, Former Singapore Permanent Secretary of External Affairs, Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore
Srinivasan, Mayall and Pulipaka have done great service by unpacking the dynamic tension between values and interests in the conduct of foreign policy by major nations. In doing so, they widen the terrain of a debate that has been traditionally framed in terms of a conflict between liberal internationalist and conservative conceptions of American/Western foreign policy or as a clash between 'Eastern' and 'Western' values. By taking a comparative perspective, the aut...