POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS AND THE SHAPING OF FOREIGN POLICY BEHAVIOR IN DEVELOPING STATES

Abstract

The paper examines how political institutions are critical in influencing the behavior of foreign policies in developing states. Although the classical international relations theories suggest that the systemic factors including power distribution, and the need to secure, are important in influencing the foreign policy decisions, this paper maintains that domestic political institutions including executive structures, legislative body control, capacity to perform bureaucracy and informal networks are also influential in influencing the foreign policy decisions. The study assumes a conceptual and analytical framework in which it combines the concepts of realism, liberal institutionalism, constructivism and domestic institutionalism to address the role of institutional configurations in the decision-making process of strategy.

The paper, based on comparative case studies that demonstrate that the institutional strength and coherence play a significant role in determining the consistency of foreign policy, ambition and international credibility. The article's research is based on more than twenty academic resources, such as journal articles, books, and government reports and policy briefs to achieve the empirical rigor. It finds that institutional change and democratic establishment are critical to improve the effectiveness of foreign policy in the Global South. The paper aids in a more subtle interpretation of the foreign policy in developing countries by preempting the internal sources of international action and provides policy advice on how that institutional capacity and policy autonomy can be reinforced.