Any policy presumably has some goal

or set of goals and objectives which you need to identify. Are

the goals consistent? In the real world of foreign policy we

may have conflicting objectives. A good policy will try to

reconcile conflicting goals and objectives as best one can.

What are the priorities? Usually in politics people disagree

about priorities. The various groups and organizations involved

in the US foreign policy process may have different assessments

of goals and priorities. You will need to examine them

critically in your policy area.

 

Once the goals and objectives have been critically discussed and

clarified, the policy maker will try to devise a strategy to

meet the goals. Strategies are just means to ends. Getting down

to the practice of politics, you will also be interested in

tactics consistent with implementing the strategy. A foreign

policy, if it is well thought out, will include strategy and

tactics.

 

A strategy may be good in theory but how practical is it? What

are the means needed to implement it? What are the resources

that the policy maker can call upon? These resources may be

military, economic, political, commercial, and sometimes moral

as well. They all boil down to power, but power takes many

forms in the international arena. A major criterion for

evaluating a given policy is whether it can be implemented, i.e.

are the resources available to carry out the policy? Can they

somehow be mobilized? Is the political will available? The task

of political leadership is not only to devise wise policies but

also to mobilize support for them.

 

Who are the critical actors in the policy-making process in your

policy area? Which groups and agencies are critical to the

successful implementation of the policy? How important is

congress and its committees? Pressure groups? The general

American public? Finally, last but not least, how effectively

does the policy address the problem under discussion? The

relevant actors and political realities in the Middle East also

have to be considered.