Introduction An all-encompassing and established bureaucracy is a key feature of the modern state. Due to the substantial expansion of the scope of the state over the years as well as the complexity of involved in the wide-ranging administrative tasks, the bureaucracy has become indispensable to the efficient running of the state due to its primacy as a source of knowledge, technical expertise and information to the politically elected leaders. As a natural extension, the role of the bureaucracy entails providing comprehensive advice and suggestions in the form of policy options to key decision makers. In addition, it is also integral to the implementation of the final policy decided on by the top leaders. These two responsibilities present convenient channels for the bureaucracy to deviate from the foreign policy direction of their political masters – especially in liberal democracies, where the tension between career bureaucrats who are experienced professionals with a relatively permanent position in the state structure, …show more content…
Most scholars who deal with domestic politics in international relations dwell on the issue of signaling and credible commitment in democracies with a narrow focus on the impact of popular opinion, since democratic accountability is one of the defining features of such a political system. Yet, this excludes the study of other domestic institutions such as the bureaucracy which also plays a significant role in the process of foreign policy making and subsequently the signaling of intentions. Therefore, my paper seeks to fill this gap as well as complement existing studies on credible commitment in the international