Realist foreign policy analysis with a twist : the Persian Gulf security complex and the rise and fall of dual containment

Smith, Keith (2016) Realist foreign policy analysis with a twist : the Persian Gulf security complex and the rise and fall of dual containment. Foreign Policy Analysis, 12 (3). pp. 315-333. ISSN 1743-8594 (https://doi.org/10.1111/fpa.12084)

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Abstract

Analyses of US post-Cold War foreign policy in the Persian Gulf symbolize realism's new found concern with foreign policy analysis. Prominent realists attribute specific policies to domestic concerns and how they have dominated policymaking in the era of US primacy. Although convincing, this perspective is not comprehensive. By drawing on regional security complex theory, it is possible to map the regional developments that have equally constrained and incentivized the rise and fall of dual containment. This more extensive account produces two important findings regarding realism's neglect of the regional level of analysis. First, realists overstate the domestic determinants of US policy in the Persian Gulf. Second, and more broadly, realist foreign policy analysts underspecify systemic pressures that shape and shove a country's foreign policy.

  • Item type:Article
    ID code:58507
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    1 July 2016
    Published
    2 February 2016
    Published Online
    14 October 2014
    Accepted
    Notes:This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Foreign Policy Analysis following peer review. The version of record Smith, K 2016, 'Realist foreign policy analysis with a twist: the Persian Gulf security complex and the rise and fall of dual containment' Foreign Policy Analysis, vol 12, no. 3, pp. 315-333, is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/fpa.12084
    Subjects:Political Science > International relations
    Department:Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > Government and Public Policy > Politics
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:09 Nov 2016 11:57
    Last modified:13 Apr 2024 00:22
    Related URLs:
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/58507
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