It is a matter of curiosity to what extent ‘emotions’ are effective in decision-making in foreign policy. While states are expected to make rational foreign policy decisions, they can’t shape their decisions with pure rationality. So, aren’t emotional situations ever rational?
In International Relations, emotions are considered a new field that emerged after the 2000s. However, the main theoretical approaches in International Relations are all built in some way on emotional states. Hobbes, Morgenthau, Niebuhr and others, they all mentioned emotions in their analysis. What we actually see when it comes to decision-making is that our perceptions are different. Since the construction of our perspectives depends on our personal experiences and history, emotions and cognition have a huge impact on them.
Do states have feelings? Each state has its own experiences and historical ties in the state-building process. States acquire memories and friend-enemy perspectives over time. These gains are extremely effective in foreign policy decisions. As an example of this, I want to talk about Canada-USA political relations. Even though the USA is a world power, it is not a threat to Canada. In view of the fact, the USA is a friend of Canada, this has been built and confirmed over time. If Canada had perceived the USA as an enemy, Canadian foreign policy would have been shaped completely differently. The concepts of trust and mistrust are vital in shaping foreign policy.
Just as it is meaningless to argue that there are ‘interests’ and not ’emotions’ in International Relations, it is also not correct to see ‘interests’ and ‘emotions’ as two independent and different actors. One of the reasons why emotions are effective in foreign policy is state interests. Think about this: Why does Germany unconditionally support Israel? Germany is very sensitive about this issue due to the genocide guilt in its past. The sense of guilt felt by Germany drives German foreign policy to a fixed opinion on this issue. On the Israel-Palestine issue, the most important factor determining Germany’s interests and decision-making is Germany’s feelings. Nonetheless, Germany acts in accordance with its interests and avoids hearing the word ‘genocide’ again.
If we take a look at Azerbaijan-Türkiye relations, we can trace both interests and emotions. This situation of two countries that are historically, linguistically and ethnically connected has a positive impact on political closeness. At the same time, the reason why Türkiye benefits from the support it provides to Azerbaijan on many issues is due to the preservation of the historical, language and ethnically ‘feelings’ created.
Considering interests and emotions together in the decisions of states enables the analysis of decisions from a broad perspective. Since foreign policy decisions are worthy of attention and remarkable experiences, it will not be enough to make observations based on a single criterion. Examining emotions facilitates understanding of age-old phenomena such as diplomacy, alliances, sovereignty and intervention, and peacebuilding. It is at the center of people’s most important judgments and decisions.
Emotions and interests are generally intertwined in the foreign policy decisions of states. It has been accepted over time in the international relations literature that emotions can be effective in foreign policy. In the near future, the connection between emotions and interests and the importance of emotions may be taken into account more in International Relations.
