Updating the Study of Foreign Policy Crisis: The Case of the Mavi Marmara Flotilla

Abstract The study of foreign policy crises (FPC) is integral to foreign policy analysis (FPA). However, since the end of the Cold War, debate on FPC has stalled. The present article seeks to update the existing FPA literature on FPCs. It uses a deductively driven approach to identify gaps in the current FPC literature and demonstrates their relevance for a real-world case of FPC, namely, the Mavi Marmara flotilla. The latter is identified as a “least likely” case study which is representative of a broader set of what we refer to as asymmetrical FPCs. Maximizing the inferential leverage entailed by this research design, we advocate for an updated FPA approach to study asymmetrical FPCs that includes actor hybridity, performativity, and social media.