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individuals - located at the “intersection of domestic and international politicalsystems, and can act internationally for domestic reasons or domestically forinternational ends”. 191As argued by Jennifer Sterling-Folker, conflict groups (that are generally the basis ofrealism’s ontology of international relations) cohere around shared conceptions ofidentity, and not mere profit. 192 Therefore, there is more to a coalition’s foreignpolicy perspective than opportunities for economic loss and profit. It is alsopossible to include notions of solidarity and identity. 193 These two coalitions couldvery well be engaged in deeper struggles in the process of national group identityformation. This process, as Sterling-Folker argues, is “intimately linked into internalsubgroup competitions for state control, …”. 194 What is more, these subgroupcompetitions for control of the state and its outward posture involve decisionsabout resource allocations. These questions become all the more pertinent in growingdeveloping countries with problems of wealth distribution and overall socioeconomicdevelopment.Party influence is, of course, also determined by the nature of the given party itself,and the relations of accountability and cohesion within its ranks. Governing partieshave frequently to forge coalitions with outside partners, with whom they have tomake concessions, although they also depend on the support of allies who sharetheir ideological convictions. As governing parties, they face both domestic andexternal challenges to their rule. The degree of salience they ascribe to each arenawill likely determine their foreign policy outlook.The analysis of governing parties, their ideologies and leadership, as well as theextent of the influence they are able to exert on foreign policy, are valuable in an191 Lobell, “Threat Assessment”, 56.192 Sterling-Folker, Jennifer, “Chapter 4: Neoclassical realism and identity: peril despiteprofit across the Taiwan Strait”, in Neoclassical Realism, the State and Foreign Policy.Eds., Lobell, Steven E., Norrin M. Ripsman and Jeffrey W. Taliaferro (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 2009).193 The notions of ‘identity’ and ‘solidarity’ appear alien to a realist framework. Numeroustheorists have called for greater dialogue between theorists of identity (mainly in theConstructivist approach to IR) and realism. See J. Samuel Barkin, “RealistConstructivism”, International Studies Review, 5, Issue 3 (2003), and a forum inresponse to this article, “Bridging the Gap: Toward A Realist-Constructivist Dialogue”, inISR, 6, Issue 2.194 Sterling-Folker, “Peril despite profit”, 115.96