Analysis of Dimensions and Components of Decision-Making in the International Arena: A Meta-Synthesis Approach

Decision-making in the international arena is one of the most complex and challenging issues in the field of foreign policy. This complexity arises from the fact that decision-makers in this field are faced with a wide range of influential factors and variables, some of which are fixed in nature and others are variable in nature. On the one hand, static issues related to the macro and unchangeable policies of countries, and on the other hand, dynamic issues that require responses appropriate to the changing conditions of the international environment, have turned decision-making in this field into a complex process. Correct recognition and understanding of the factors affecting decision-making in this field is an issue that requires scientific and systematic study. Decision-making in the international arena is one of the most complex areas of foreign policy that is influenced by numerous fixed and variable factors. The increasing complexity of international relations and the profound impact of foreign policy decisions on the national interests of countries have doubled the necessity of scientific and systematic recognition of the components of decision-making in this field. This study aims to answer the question of what the components of decision-making in the international arena are and how they can be categorized, using a qualitative meta-synthesis method and using the seven-step approach of Sandelowski and Barroso. After reviewing 98 relevant scientific sources and analyzing their content, the components of decision-making in the international arena were identified and categorized into eight main dimensions, including the individual and personality dimension, value and belief, environmental and international, institutional and organizational, national interests and interests, rational and analytical, participatory and popular, and legal and legal. The innovation of this study is in providing a comprehensive and systematic framework of the components of decision-making in the international arena that can be the basis for analyzing and improving the decision-making process in foreign policy.