Session 8: New Chapter: Bureaucratic Politics

Allison and Halperin provides an alternative approach to the classical means of unveiling IR theories by incorporating Bureaucratic Politics in the explanation of national behaviour of governments and states.

It focuses on the relationship of individuals within a government and the interaction among them which ultimately results in the bargaining among players placed at lucrative posts. The bureaucratic Politics Paradigm comprises of basic unites of analysis that attach importance to the actions of the government and gives accounts of the powerful players involved,  factors governing their stand, and agreements reached between them.

Many nations are doing different things at a particular time. However, the actions of all the countries do not require the attention of the state. Those that do are intricately linked to the interests of the state. Mostly, actions of states are inspired by the actions of its rivals. Certain acts can sway away the stance of the political masters on a particular issue and then are translated into actions. For example, the primary concern of United States of America during World War 2 was the advances of Japan towards the Germany group. Americans were fearful that such alliances would be detrimental to their interests. With Japan rejecting Potsdam Ultimatum and Soviet Union intending to invade Tokyo, America bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to bring an end to the war and secure their position in the international area as the country with the power to destroy a state with the push of a button. 

However, leaders might not recognize that rival states have a different image of the world and view world events in a different light. this may result in miscommunication between states and ignite hostility.