Introduction

The implementation of foreign policy is closely related to the concept of national interests. An effective foreign policy would be one that achieves the objectives laid down by the country concerned in pursuance of its national interests. Without discounting the idiosyncrasies of particular leaders in the formulation and implementation of a country's foreign policy, the analysis of national interests will help to clarify the purpose, dynamism, and direction of foreign policy. Although there are disagreements on the nature of national interests — objective and permanent or subjective and changeable — there is little doubt that national survival and economic well-being constitute the core of any nation's interests. The content of a country's foreign policy, and how it conducts itself beyond its national borders, is primarily determined by its relative power in the international community. While some countries with superior military and economic strength have ambitions to exercise regional or even global dominance, others only wish to focus on their internal problems.

Despite their heterogeneity, developing countries on the whole share a basic similarity in their national interests, and hence foreignpolicy objectives. For these countries, the demands of nation building tend to overwhelm all other considerations. As R.C. Good argues, “the foreign policy of a new state cannot be understood exclusively in the light of domestic necessities; but unless the omnipresent task of state-building is allowed to illuminate the objectives and motives of foreign policy, it cannot be understood at all”. As such, for a new state, foreign policy is mainly — though not exclusively — a response to domestic conditions, not to external problems.

As most developing countries have suffered from colonialism and imperialism, preservation of national sovereignty is usually one of the most important foreign policy objectives. Developing countries are often extremely sensitive to any moves, particularly those coming from the developed world, which could be construed as interference in their internal affairs. Related to national sovereignty is territorial integrity, for many developing countries are still nation states in the making, with regions within each country struggling for separatism.