Framing Foreign Policy In India, Brazil And South Africa: On The Like-mindedness Of The Ibsa States (contributions To Political Science)

This book analyses the India, Brazil, South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA), focusing on the communalities and differences in the way foreign policy is conceptualized in its member states. Utilizing 83 interviews with foreign policy makers and experts, as well as the analysis of 119 foreign-policy speeches, the author traces key shifts in official foreign policy discourse. In order to evaluate the degree of support for key IBSA Dialogue Forum concepts within national discourse, the author also examines the interplay between official and broader societal discourses on foreign policy. This analysis combines political science factors (foreign policy role conceptions) with linguistic factors, thus enabling a qualitative and quantitative comparison of different framings of foreign policy. Extensive empirical material collected during six months of field research in India, Brazil and South Africa allows the author to present a differentiated account of their alleged like-mindedness. Front Matter....Pages i-xviii Introduction....Pages 1-8 IBSA: Three Like-Minded States?....Pages 9-40 A Comparative Approach to Foreign Policy Discourse Analysis....Pages 41-73 Schools of Thought in Foreign Policy Discourse: The Potential for Convergence and Divergence Amongst IBSA States....Pages 75-154 Official Framings of Foreign Policy: South–South Leadership as Starting Point of the IBSA Initiative....Pages 155-189 Contested Roles: Investigating Societal Framings of Foreign Policy in India, Brazil and South Africa....Pages 191-219 Conclusions: The Like-Mindedness of the IBSA States....Pages 221-232 Outlook: IBSA and the Shadow of BRICS....Pages 233-238 Back Matter....Pages 239-257