This concept defines the autonomy of politics, and allows for the analysis of foreign policy regardless of the different motives, preferences, and intellectual and moral qualities of individual politicians.
A nagging criticism of Obama's foreign policy has been the willingness, even preference, to pursue its goals collectively, relying on the United Nations and other international organizations for legal and moral authority.
But he is inclined to over-simplify, and his preference for a foreign policy based entirely on calculations of (narrowly defined) American self-interest inevitably infects his judgments.The problem is particularly evident when it comes to the assessment of the Clinton years.
This nationalism is connected to India's foreign policy, which focuses on a bilateral preference in managing the Ganges Basin (Crow and Singh 2000).
Like Catherine Ashton, she was chosen in preference to some veteran foreign policy big-hitters, notably Poland's Radek Sikorski, Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite and Sweden's Carl Bildt.
The Generalized System of Preferences has been an effective foreign policy tool since the mid-1970s, premised on the sensible proposition that poor countries can prosper best from trade.
Early research into the structure of foreign policy belief systems found that militarism -- a preferences for "get tough" responses in foreign affairs -- played the single most important role in structuring U.S. foreign policy attitudes.
His foreign policy for the 21st century marks a decided preference for unilateralism.
He adopted a less assertive foreign policy stance and in domestic affairs showed a preference for classic laissez-faire, reflecting his connections with the business community.
