Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (Jul 2016)

Foreign Policy Analysis in Latin American democracies: the case for a research protocol

  • Dawisson Belém Lopes,
  • Carlos Aurélio Pimenta de Faria,
  • Manoel Santos

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7329201600106
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 59, no. 1

Abstract

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Abstract In this article we propose an alternative theoretical path to study contemporary Latin American foreign policies, evoking the notion of 'public policy cycle' to explain how democratic regimes in the region have been able to expand their autonomy over time. For that, we will first identify the sources of a given country's foreign policy, both at home and abroad, as well as its decision-making and implementation mechanisms. With regard to methodology, by replacing sheer deductivism for some inductivism, this approach also innovates in allowing more rigorous comparative politics and, consequently, new general theories about Latin American politics and policies.

Keywords