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Self, Culture, and Drama of Foreign Policy: A Cybernetic Metaphor

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The Spirit of Chinese Foreign Policy
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Abstract

As indicated in Chapter 2, a multi-perspective analysis contains motivational and structural elements, long and short-term factors, pre-and post-decision analyses, as well as consideration of variables on different analytical levels. It is with this expectation that a psycho-cultural model is introduced in this chapter. There is no doubt that various aspects of culture affect foreign policy behaviour.1 However, the processes through which cultural factors exert their influence are difficult to conceptualise. Culture is a discredited factor both because it cannot be quantified easily despite various attempts,2 and because there is the unlikely assumption that people who share the same cultural background would behave in the same way.

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Notes

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© 1990 Chih-yu Shih

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Shih, Cy. (1990). Self, Culture, and Drama of Foreign Policy: A Cybernetic Metaphor. In: The Spirit of Chinese Foreign Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11156-5_3

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