Philippine Foreign Policy Analysis
Philippine Foreign Policy Analysis
Gilpin focused on the powerful economic, political and technological forces that transformed to economic globalization. He argues that the state, like the market, remains a principal institution. He also cautions against overestimating the power of multinational corporations; most economic transactions still occur within nations and not across nations. Waltz introduced the neorealism theory which states seek to survive within an anarchical system. Although states may seek survival through power balancing, balancing is not the aim of that behaviour. Balancing is a product of the aim to survive, because the international system is regarded as anarchic and based on self-help, the most powerful units set the scene of action for others as well as themselves; (poles); the international system, characterized as unipolar, bipolar or multi polar. Putnam introduced the two-level game theory, a political model of international conflict resolutions between liberal democracies.The "two-level game" is a metaphor referring to a situation where statesmen are positioned between domestic politics and international negotiations and should simultaneously calculate the domestic and international implications of their actions:"International negotiations must be seen as a double edged process in which every actor tries to take into account expected reactions on both the domestic and international level
A wise government in its home policy considers the reasonable wants of the people; in its foreign policy it is prepared to resist the unjust demands and the unreasonable views of foreign powers.( Lord Palmerston, leader of the liberal party in Victorian England) The Neorealism Perspective and State Centric (partly reflected) are reflected in the main objectives of Philippine Foreign Policy. To date, the Philippines pursues the 3 main pillars / objectives of foreign policy, which are the following: Preservation, and and enhancement of national security; promotion and attainment of economic security through the mobilization of external resources for economic advancement and social development; the protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare and interests of Filipinos overseas. The state centric realism is also reflected in the Foreign Philippine Policy, in as much the Philippine state is seen as the the primary actor in the international affair. The central concerns of the state in state centric realism, are it's national interest as defined in terms of military security and political independence. National Security is and always will be the principal concern of the states. The engagement of the Philippines in the global community is guided by the mandates of the 1987 Constitution, more specifically, Article 2 Declarations of Principles and State Policies, Sections 7; the state shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states the paramount consideration shall be the national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest, and the right to self-determination Neorealism holds that the international structure is defined by its ordering principle, which is anarchy, and by the distribution of capabilities, measured by the number of great powers within the international system. The anarchic ordering principle of the international structure is decentralized, having no formal central authority, and is composed of formally equal sovereign states. These states act according to the logic of self-help--states seek their own interest and will not subordinate their interest to another's. Neo-Realism maintains that while states maybe concern with raising the population’s standard of living and promoting national moral values international, these goals must ultimately remain subordinate to ensuring the state’s survival, without which all aspirations are doomed anyway. To guard against the worst case scenario of national enslavement or destruction, states tend to see each other as potential enemies. Corollary to Section 7 is Section 2 which states; The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law of the land and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations. Neo-realists also assume that states are rational, unitary actors in their external behavior because when it comes to international relations and foreign policy, all factions and organizations agree on the common goal of making the states as secure as possible (Denny, Roy, (1998), China's Foreign Policy). Neorealism is based on the on the rational choice approach to internal relations, with it's three axioms: 1) States are concerned with self preservation in a self-help system.; 2) States are concerned with their positons vis-a-vis other states; this is also known as the concept of relative gains. 3) These concerns will lead states to form and preserve balances of power.States are assumed at a minimum to want to ensure their own survival as this is a prerequisite to pursue other goals. This driving force of survival is the primary factor influencing their behavior and in turn ensures states develop defensive or offensive military capabilities. because states can never be certain of other states' future intentions, there is a lack of trust between states which requires them to be on guard against relative losses of power which could enable other states to threaten their survival. This lack of trust, based on uncertainty, is called the security dilemma. (Culture Relations: The Role of the State)./
- Kenneth Waltz. The Emerging Structure of International Politics
- Robert. Putnam, Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of 2-Level Games by Putnam
- Robert, Gilpin. The New Political Economic Order
- Romulo, Alberto (2004) Philippine Foreign Policy Realities. (Speech) Manila Overseas Press Club Diplomatic Night: http://www.dfa.gov.ph/archive/speech/romulo/realities.htm
- 1987 Phillippine Constitution
- Denny, Roy, (1998), China's Foreign Policy
- Santiago, Defensor. (2002). International Relation
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neorealism_(international_relations)
Leave a Reply