FOREIGN POLICY AND ITS IMPACT ON MODERN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Abstract:

This article analyzes the concept and essence of foreign policy within the context of contemporary international processes. In a narrow sense, foreign policy is understood as the totality of relations between independent states and other actors in international relations, which together constitute political relations between countries. Political relations between states and other participants in the international system are aimed at establishing, maintaining, and developing various forms of interaction with other states, nations, and peoples. These political relations serve as a foundation for the development of other types of international cooperation, including economic, scientific-technical, and cultural relations. An analysis of scholarly sources reveals that the concepts of “foreign policy” and “international relations” differ in both essence and content. The term “foreign policy” is used to describe the political relations of individual states with other actors in the international arena; that is, the actions undertaken by one state toward another are considered its foreign policy. In contrast, “international relations” is a broader concept that encompasses not only political relations but also various other forms of interaction and communication among actors in the international system.

Keywords: foreign policy, international relations, diplomatic relations, domestic policy, security, state, system, national interests, state interests.