New directions for foreign policy analysis

Abstract

This special issue (vol. 45 (2) and vol. 46(2)) presents (some) new research directions for Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) and Diplomatic Studies. It is driven by the dual aim of exploring contemporary debates that have nourished interpretivist approaches to foreign policy and diplo- macy and engaging, through this very prism, with two broader audiences in Brazil. On the one hand, it wishes to connect these recent research directions to scholars working within the preva- lent analytical tradition of foreign policy in the country. On the other hand, it also tries to engage post-positivist traditions in Brazilian International Relations (IR) that have traditionally neglected the fields of FPA or Diplomatic Studies. In short, the SI starts from the premise that FPA is a field not necessarily connected to one methodological tradition. Interpretivist research can inform FPA, and FPA can inform interpretivist research.