Download or read book "Frames of Reference" and "pre-theories" written by Victor E. Gooch and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation compares the foreign policy "approaches" of R. C. Snyder and J. N. Rosenau. While Snyder's "Decision-making as an Approach to the Study of International Politics" (1954) and Rosenau's "Pre-Ilieories and Theories of Foreign Policy" (1966) constitute the core sources an attempt has been made to clarify the approaches of the authors by reference to a number of recent publications. Such a comprehensive examination, in addition to clarifying each approach, considerably aids the task of comparison. The approaches of Snyder and Rosenau are found to be different in a number of key areas. The "decision-making" approach differs from Rosenau's "pre-Theories" approach particularly in respect to each author's stipulation of levels of analysis, dependent and independent variables and in their respective views regarding the "phenomenological issue." A chapter is devoted to comparing the two approaches in each of the above areas. The final chapter (Chapter Four) is concerned with the operational utility of the two analytical schemes. Empirical reference is made to the United States decision to resist aggression in Korea. In spite of the major differences between the approaches noted above, both experience difficulties with empirical data. Snyder's categories, it has been noted, are illusively stipulated (constantly changing) and imprecisely defined. Rosenau's categories, while more clearly stipulated, are, like Snyder's, extremely difficult to operationalize. However, given Rosenau's non-phenomenological orientation, more exacting effort may establish adequate categories. The operationalization of Snyder's categories will, strongly suspected, prove much more difficult.