PSYCHOLOGY, FOREIGN-POLICY, AND INTERNATIONAL-RELATIONS THEORY

Foreign Policy Decision-Making (FPDM) can be considered an autonomous ''research program'' in international relations theory. The basic tenets of FPDM are identified using the framework and terminology of Lakatos. The aims and assumptions of FPDM are compared to neorealism, a dominant research program in international relations. Distinctions between FPDM and neorealism should be maintained in the interests of internal consistency and progressive theory-building.