Levels of analysis

What is it about?

Levels of analysis is central to organizing thinking and analysis of international relations and foreign policy. Foreign policy analysis, in particular, opens the black box of the state and points to a political level (governments and parliaments), a societal level (interest groups and electorates) and an individual level (political leaders). Current debates on levels of analysis highlight three challenges of the concept: there is no consensus on the number and nature of levels; there is no consensus on how levels relate and combine; and the nature of levels remains contested – the classical literature emphasized material properties, whereas more recent work points to the importance of social, ideational and perceptual factors.

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Photo by Parrish Freeman on Unsplash

Photo by Parrish Freeman on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Levels of analysis allow us to explain the complex and sometimes chaotic ongoings of international life by designating causes and effects to levels such as the individual, the state and the international system.

Perspectives