Systemic pressures and domestic ideas: a neoclassical realist model of grand strategy formation

Abstract

Systemic pressures and domestic ideas: a neoclassical realist model of grand strategy formation NICHOLAS KITCHENAbstract. Scholars in international relations have long known that ideas matter in matters of international politics, yet theories of the discipline have failed to capture their impact either in the making of foreign policy or the nature of the international system. Recent reengagement with the insights of classical realists has pointed to the possibility of a neoclassical realist approach that can take into account the impact of ideas. This article will suggest that the study of grand strategy can enlighten the intervening ideational variables between the distribution of power in the international system and the foreign policy behaviour of states, and thus constitute the key element in a neoclassical realist research agenda.

UNASUR, Brazil, and the South American defence cooperation: A decade later

“…Two of the three conditions suggested by Kitchen (2010) met the political scenario in Brasília: (a) specific individuals held ideas to consolidate Brazilian leadership within its region: President Lula da Silva, his chancellor Celso Amorim, and then Minister of Defence Nelson Jobim, all shared the same ideals; (b) the broader culture of the state during Lula da Silva's years somehow reinforced the optimistic view that it was time for Brazil to finally become a world power (Amorim 2015).…”

“…Neoclassical realism then seeks to understand how domestic inputs intervene on leaders' understandings of the balances of power and the connection with their final political actions. Kitchen (2010) suggests that a grand strategy 2 formation is the key to understanding how systemic pressures perceptions become public policies. The author presents three scenarios in which states might be more driven by their own ideas than by systemic pressures: 1) the more powerful states are, the more likely they are to look for policies based on ideas, 2) when ideas are highly institutionalized or culturally sustained, and 3) when decision-making is highly centered on one person or a small group.…”

“…According to Kitchen (2010, 130), ideas might intervene domestically in three different ways: "through the specific individuals that hold them; through institutions in which they may become embedded; and through the broader culture of the state". Joining Rezende's (2015) and Kitchen's (2010) theoretical contributions, the next sections will analyze how the change in the regional balance of power in South America influenced UNASUR and the SADC's institutional and political dynamics, and how domestic ideas within Brazil served in order to respond to such systemic pressures and change domestic policies related to defence and security cooperation in South America.…”

“…8 This might mean that systemic pressures began to influence policy-makers more than ideas at the domestic level in South American states. As Kitchen's (2010) grand strategy formation method puts it, there was a lack of a powerful actor to coerce ideas, a lack of highly Rev. Bras.…”

“…This section will also suggest how structural constraints lead to domestic political responses as seen from a neoclassical realist approach (Kitchen 2010;Taliaferro et al 2009). The second section will present a brief review of the assessments of the performance of the SADC.…”