A model of foreign policy substitutability - Selecting the right tools forthe job(s)

The authors present a model of substitutability that seeks to generalize be yond the restricted conditions and special case of realism. The derivations from the model lead to several hypotheses. First, if a state's relative ca pabilities increase, resources given to all foreign policies should increas e. Second, when the efficiency of one policy increases, resources given to other policies should decline. Third, when the relative salience for one go od increases, resources devoted to policies that produce that good should i ncrease, while resources devoted to policies that produce other goods shoul d diminish. The authors use the model to guide an investigation of the effe cts of increased resources, new alliances, and more efficient existing alli ances an the policies of conflict initiation and increases in military spen ding. The findings are inconsistent with realism's version of substitutabil ity but can be explained by an n-good approach.