Interests and Ideas

The central topic of the reading is whether ideas have any impact on policy outcomes and if so under what conditions. The author provides three causal pathways to describe how ideas can effect policy, namely that ideas can serve as roadmaps, they contribute to outcomes in absence of an equilibrium, and that ideas embedded in institutions dictate policy in absence of innovation.

There were several concepts that appeared throughout the text, the ones that specifically jumped out at me were that interests and ideas are not inherently mutually exclusive and that ideas are more apparent in the policy decision making process in times of uncertainty. I believe that ideas shape perceived notions of interests as self-interest is often impossible to empirically and therefore subjective in nature. Russia believed it acted in it’s self-interest when it invaded Georgia in 2008 to prevent it from joining NATO while the rest of the world was on the outside looking in to determine what the possible motives were for this action. The idea of NATO expansion to Russia was a perceived threat to it’s interests while to NATO countries this expansion was not intended to be a slight on Russia. The concept of ideas acting as pathways during times of uncertainty I believe is most apparent when examining international organizations and alliances, formal and otherwise. Comparisons can be make between Hobbes’ State of Nature and the realm of international politics as there is no central authority dictating the rules of governance, and the uncertainty caused by this lack of governance leads nations to make alliances and form friendships with nations which have similar ideas and world views (one notable exception being the US-Saudi relationship). Nations generally tend to seek friendships from other nations who have a similar moral compass, hence the U.S. and E.U. friendship as both value individual liberties and (at least nominally) human rights.

Goldstein, Judith, Robert O Keohane. Ideas and Foreign Policy. Cornell University Press. 1993