Latin America’s Foreign Policies between Pragmatism and Ideology: A Framework for Analysis

Ideology and pragmatism are integral components of foreign policy, in fact, of any political activity in the broader sense. Principled beliefs are indispensable lenses through which to view the world, to assess and make sense of events and issues, and to establish goals and preferences. As a consequence, principled beliefs provide selectors of options for action, to translate ideals and political preferences into policy decisions and implementation. When it comes to translating theory into practice, however, feasibility, consequences of action, and constraints of several types must also be taken into consideration, since they too act as selectors of options. The worlds of aspirations and ideals, realities and calculated interest, are part of human nature; they guide human behavior and are therefore present in foreign policy design and implementation.