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Challenges the assumption of the rationality of foreign policy makers in international relations, showing how leaders systematically vary in the rationality of their thinking.
List of contents
Introduction: three theoretical arguments, four 'great men' of history, multiple methods, and disciplines; 1. The psychology of rationality: cognitive style in international relations; 2. The three 'r's of international relations: realism, romanticism and rationality; 3. Little Bismarcks: a laboratory experiment on variation in rational thinking and rational behavior; 4. The 'prince' among men: Bismarck's realpolitik in Prussian politics; 5. Cold blood and iron: Bismarck, the struggle with Austria and German unification; 6. Blind faith: Richelieu, the devoted, and France in counter-reformation Europe; 7. 'Blood, toil, tears and sweat': Churchill, romanticism and the rational appeasement debate; 8. 'In defeat, defiance': Churchill in words (1935-39) and in deeds (1940) with Therese Anders; 9. 'Beginning the world all over again': resolving the paradox of Ronald Reagan; 10. Winning one as the Gipper? Reagan's administration and American engagement with the Soviet Union; Conclusion: the irrationality of rational choice: saving a paradigm from itself; References; Index.
About the author
Brian C. Rathbun is a Professor in the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Partisan Interventions (2004), Trust in International Cooperation (2011) and Diplomacy's Value (2014), which won the best book award from the Diplomatic Studies Section of the International Studies Association. He has published articles in journals, such as International Organization, World Politics, International Security and International Studies Quarterly, among others.
Summary
International relations scholars typically assume the rationality of foreign policy makers when in fact leaders systematically vary in the rationality of their thinking. Through case studies of leaders like Churchill and Reagan, Rathbun shows that the imposed standard of rationality, based in objectivity and deliberation, was often absent.
