This paper problematizes the concept of foreign policy and argues that academics have something to gain from challenging the ontological separation between domestic and international politics. Building on existing scholarship in the field of International Relations, it employs a realist philosophical position to develop a conception of the state embedded within a range of transnational structures that can reproduce and potentially transform it. This interpretation goes onto suggest that actors within that state have a crucial role to play in this process. They have the ability to create, but also resist or even break up these structures if they perceive such strategic action to be in their interests. This paper develops the terms ‘transnational terrain’ and ‘linkage governance’ to help depict and understand such cases. It utilises examples from British politics to illustrate these claims.
