We present a methodology to measure how in the process of implementing foreign policy, the United States prioritizes its resources. A measure of the return on the resource allocation is given by the estimated value in achieving the goals of foreign policy per unit of effort invested. The “investment” is represented by the priorities of the regions to influence since the priority serves as a proxy for resource allocation; the return is measured by the degree to which one perceives that the investment has achieved its intended goal. Prioritization is important in determining resource allocation which depends on how the nation‐state perceives the overall effectiveness of its policies relative to the criteria applied in evaluating its performance. We demonstrate through the use of the Analytic Hierarchy/Network Process how to generate priorities and determine the relative influence and effectiveness of resource deployment.

中文翻译：

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衡量美国在世界上的影响力

我们提出一种方法来衡量美国在执行外交政策的过程中如何优先考虑其资源。资源分配回报的衡量标准是为实现每单位投入的努力达到外交政策目标所需的估计值。“投资”由受影响地区的优先次序表示，因为该优先次序可作为资源分配的代表；回报是根据人们对投资是否已达到其预期目标的程度进行衡量的。确定资源分配的优先级很重要，这取决于民族国家相对于评估其绩效所采用的标准如何看待其政策的整体有效性。