Are psychological and/or social-psychological factors relevant to foreign policy decision making? If so, how do we reconcile this fact with the notion and the demand of rationality itself?

International Relations
Name:
Date:
Institutional Affiliations:
In the discipline of foreign policy, the impact of psychological factors on decision making is the most critical. The process encompasses the aspects of motives, beliefs, personal cognition, and individual traits. The most significant attribute is, however, one’s rationality in handling the challenges. This delves into one’s personality especially the reason based on facts and conformity to beliefs, ethics, and stipulated guidelines. While many psychological or social psychological factors define our personality, the main concern is how these impact the foreign policy decision making.
Psychological factors are those dynamics such as feelings, thoughts and cognitive powers that influence behavior, attitude, and ration. They affect how we think and hence the decisions we make. When the issue regards the community as a whole or relations between nations, then the social-psychological factors play a contentious role. Controlling the informational aspects and evaluating standards of interrelationship requires not only personal beliefs but also creativity, intrinsic motivation and more so rationality (Shimko, 1994). Foreign policy in a country refers to the strategies adopted by the state to safeguard its interests and achieve certain goals in their interaction with their nations. At times, owing to the increasing levels of globalizations, states are required to network with even non-state actors. For such dealings to solidify and the state be in a position to sustain its interests and standards, they must act reasonably.

One way is holding on facts and reason for every action taken. Being rational will help conceive accurate beliefs about the global economy through vindicating cognitive biases and holding on to verifiable evidence alongside beliefs.
There must be reconciliation between psychological factors and ration during diplomatic decision making. This can be achieved if the parties remain truthful, reasonable but flexible enough to adopt changes and others’ cultures. Psychological factors are highly relevant in foreign policy decision making. They are even more effective when coupled with reason and rationality.
References
Shimko, K. (1994). Metaphors and Foreign Policy Decision Making. Political Psychology, 15(4), 655. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3791625