Imitation in international relations : analogies, vicarious learning, and foreign policy | Macquarie University ResearchOnline

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Title: Imitation in international relations : analogies, vicarious learning, and foreign policy
Related: International interactions, Vol. 29, Issue 3, p.237-267
DOI: 10.1080/03050620304593
Publisher: Routledge
Date: 2003
Author/Creator: Goldsmith, Benjamin
Description: Do states learn from other states' experiences in international relations? This is the expectation of prominent theories. But empirical research indicates that foreign policy learning is based overwhelmingly on direct experience. I argue that vicarious learning has not been uncovered because we have not known where to look: there has been no well-developed theory leading to falsifiable expectations. Here I suggest a theory and test it on data for foreign policy beliefs and analogies used by Ukrainian and Russian elites. The results indicate that learning from vicarious success, or imitation, has a strong impact on beliefs following a major failure. This has implications for foreign policy decision making and for concepts of interests and change in systemic theories of international relations.
Description: 31 page(s)
Subject Keyword: foreign policy
Subject Keyword: learning
Subject Keyword: analogies
Subject Keyword: Russia
Subject Keyword: Ukraine
Subject Keyword: political psychology
Resource Type: journal article
Organisation: Macquarie University. Dept. of Politics and International Relations

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