<P> Foreign policy analysis is the study of the management of external relations and activities of state . Foreign policy involves goals, strategies, measures, methods, guidelines, directives, agreements, and so on . National governments may conduct international relations not only with other nation - states but also with international organizations and non-governmental organizations . </P> <P> Managing foreign relations need carefully considered plans of actions that are adapted to foreign interests and concerns of the government . </P> <P> Foreign policy analysis involves the study of how a state makes foreign policy . As it analyzes the decision making process, FPA involves the study of both international and domestic politics . FPA also draws upon the study of diplomacy, war, intergovernmental organizations, and economic sanctions, each of which are means by which a state may implement foreign policy . In academia, foreign policy analysis is most commonly taught within the discipline of public policy within political science or political studies, and the study of international relations . FPA can also be considered a sub-field of the study of international relations, which aims to understand the processes behind foreign policy decision making . The most prominent scholars in this field of study include Richard Snyder, James Rosenau, Alexander George, Graham Allison and Irving Janis . </P> <P> According to foreignpolicyanalysis.org, "As a field of study, foreign policy analysis is characterized by its actor - specific focus . In the simplest terms, it is the study of the process, effects, causes, or outputs of foreign policy decision - making in either a comparative or case - specific manner . The underlying and often implicit argument theorizes that human beings, acting as a group or within a group, compose and cause change in international politics ." In other words, Foreign Policy Analysis can be understood as a critique of the dominant structuralist approaches in international relations . </P>

What do foreign policy analysis (fpa) approaches to international relations seek to explain