Why Leaders and Nations Choose War - Emotions and Decision Making

Why Leaders and Nations Choose War: Emotions and Decision Making analyses the decisive role that emotions play in one of the most consequential arenas of human life-war. Challenging the assumption that leaders act purely on rational calculation, this demonstrates how fear, wishful thinking, and regret have repeatedly shaped fateful decisions in modern history. Drawing on psychological theory, international relations, and historical case studies, Gadi Heimann explains how emotions can both enhance and distort judgment, tipping the scales between peace and conflict. Through vivid accounts of twentieth-century wars, Why Leaders and Nations Choose War reveals how fear drove Germany into World War I and Israel into preemptive strikes throughout its history; how wishful thinking fueled Germany''s submarine offensive and Japan''s attack on Pearl Harbor; and how regret shaped U.S. isolationism and later the Cold War. By weaving together theory and narrative, the book provides a new lens for understanding the complex interplay between emotion and statecraft.

List of contents

Preface
Introduction

Part One: Fear
Chapter 1: Fear, Security, and War as Tragedy
Chapter 2: The "German Complex" and World War I
Chapter 3: The Road to the Six-Day War

Part Two: Wishful Thinking
Chapter 4: Optimism and the Rational Actor Model
Chapter 5: Germany Opts for a Submarine Offensive
Chapter 6: Japan's Road to Pearl Harbor

Part Three: Regret
Chapter 7: Regret, Historical Lessons, and National Trauma
Chapter 8: The Arms Manufacturers' Conspiracy and American Isolationism
Chapter 9: The Specter of Munich and the Cold War
Epilogue

About the Author

About the author

Gadi Heimann is associate professor in the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Product details

• Authors: Gadi Heimann, Heimann Gadi
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 09.07.2026
• EAN: 9781666974751
• ISBN: 978-1-66697-475-1
• No. of pages: 272
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Security (National & International), POLITICAL SCIENCE / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Peace, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Genocide & War Crimes, International Relations, Politics and government, Peace studies and conflict resolution, Peace studies & conflict resolution, War & defence operations, Theory of warfare and military science, Theory of warfare & military science