Modeling the 1973 Soviet Decision to Support Egypt

1989 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip D. Stewart ◽  
Margaret G. Hermann ◽  
Charles F. Hermann
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Soviet Policy ◽  
Contingency Model ◽  
Soviet Foreign Policy

We present a contingency model of Soviet foreign policy making that focuses on decision making in the Politburo. The model is designed around three questions and shows how the answers to these questions determine the likely nature of the decision the Politburo will reach at any point in time. The questions are (1) Whose positions on the Politburo are critical to making a decision? (2) What are the positions or preferences of those who count on the issue under consideration? (3) How are disagreements among these individuals handled? The model is illustrated by examining the Soviet decision to increase significantly the numbers and types of weapons delivered to Egypt in early 1973. Of interest in this case is accounting for the shift in Soviet policy from refusing Egypt offensive weapons to providing them.

The “Lessons” of Vietnam and Soviet Foreign Policy

1981 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Zimmerman ◽  
Robert Axelrod
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Policy Dialogue ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Soviet Policy ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Soviet Foreign Policy ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Third World ◽  
Individual Choices

This study systematically identifies the Soviet lessons of Vietnam as presented in eleven Soviet newspapers (specialized and regional as well as the central papers) and eight journals. Altogether, 1,585 citations were coded, representing more than 70 different lessons. A predominant finding is that the most common lessons the Soviet Union learned from Vietnam differed from their American counterparts: the Soviet lessons would not have warned the leadership about the dangers of military intervention in Afghanistan. A left/right scale was constructed, based on such issue clusters as why the communists won in Vietnam, the nature of imperialism, and the implications of Soviet policy in the Third World. Substantial variation was found among the media examined, many of which are linked to specific Soviet institutions. The implication is that Soviet foreign policy is contingent upon individual choices, institutional interplay, and changing contexts. This, in turn, suggests that Western policy makers should not lose sight of their capacity to influence the Soviet policy dialogue, and hence Soviet policy choices.

Feminist Perspectives on Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie D'Aoust
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
The Impact

Foreign policy analysis (FPA) deals with the decision-making processes involved in foreign policy-making. As a field of study, FPA overlaps international relations (IR) theory and comparative politics. Studies that take into account either sex, women, or gender contribute to the development of knowledge on and about women in IR, which is in itself one of the goals of feminist scholarship. There are two main spheres of feminist inquiries when it comes to foreign policy: the role of women as sexed power holders involved in decision-making processes and power-sharing in the realm of foreign policy-making, and the role of gendered norms in the conduct and adoption of foreign policies. Many observers insist that feminism and foreign policy are linked only by a marriage of convenience, designed to either acknowledge the political accomplishments of women in the sphere of foreign policy such as Margaret Thatcher and Indira Ghandi, or bring attention to so-called “women’s issues,” such as reproduction rights and population control. Scholarship on women and/or gender in relation to foreign policy covers a wide range of themes, such as the role of women as political actors in decision-making processes and organizational structures; women’s human rights and gender mainstreaming; the impact of various foreign policies on women’s lives; and the concept of human security and the idea of women’s rights as a valid foreign policy objective. Three paradigms that have been explored as part of the study of women in comparative politics and IR are behavioralism, functionalism, and rational choice theory.

scholarly journals Politics, policy-making and the presence of images of suffering children

2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 593-608
Author(s):  
Helen Berents
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Visual Politics ◽  
Policy Decision Making ◽  
Political Dimensions

Abstract In 2017 Trump expressed pity for the ‘beautiful babies’ killed in a gas attack on Khan Shaykhun in Syria before launching airstrikes against President Assad's regime. Images of suffering children in world politics are often used as a synecdoche for a broader conflict or disaster. Injured, suffering, or dead; the ways in which images of children circulate in global public discourse must be critically examined to uncover the assumptions that operate in these environments. This article explores reactions to images of children by representatives and leaders of states to trace the interconnected affective and political dimensions of these images. In contrast to attending to the expected empathetic responses prompted by images of children, this article particularly focuses on when such images prompt bellicose foreign policy decision-making. In doing this, the article forwards a way of thinking about images as contentious affective objects in international relations. The ways in which images of children's bodies and suffering are strategically deployed by politicians deserves closer scrutiny to uncover the visual politics of childhood inherent in these moments of international politics and policy-making.

scholarly journals Missing in Analysis: Women in Foreign Policy–Making

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-141
Author(s):  
Karen E Smith
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Decision Maker ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Black Box ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Foreign Policy Analysis ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Policy Decision Making

Abstract Foreign policy analysis (FPA) opens the “black box” of the state and provides explanations of how and why foreign policy decisions are made, which puts individuals and groups (from committees to ministries) at the center of analysis. Yet the sex of the decision-maker and the gendered nature of the decision-making process have generally been left out of the picture. FPA has not addressed questions regarding the influence of women in foreign policy decision-making processes or the effects of gender norms on decision-making; indeed, FPA appears to be almost entirely gender-free. This article argues that “gendering” FPA is long overdue and that incorporating gender into FPA frameworks can provide a richer and more nuanced picture of foreign policy–making.

The Early Post-Stalin Succession Struggle and Upheavals in East-Central Europe: Internal-External Linkages in Soviet Policy Making (Part 1)

1999 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Kramer
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
Soviet Policy ◽  
External Events ◽  
The Impact

The death of Josif Stalin was followed by momentous changes in the Soviet bloc. Part 1 of this two-part article considers how and why these changes came about, looking at the interaction between domestic and external events. It explores the nature of Soviet decision making, the impact of events in East-Central Europe, the implementation of Moscow's new policy, and the use of Soviet troops to put down a large-scale uprising in East Germany. Politics, Power, and U.S. Policy in Iran, 1950–1953

Soviet Scholars and Soviet Foreign Policy. A Case Study in Soviet Policy Towards India.

1976 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 739
Author(s):  
Marshall Windmiller ◽  
Richard B. Remnek ◽  
W. W. Kulski
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Policy ◽  
Soviet Foreign Policy

scholarly journals Federal vs. Central Foreign Policy German Foreign Policy Structure An Analysis of Decision-Making Process

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebin Dr. Fard
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Research Question ◽  
German Foreign Policy ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Policy Structure ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
Domestic Level

<p>To answer the research question , I focus on the domestic level to draw up a profile of the German foreign policy making process. For the analysis content analysis is used as a research method in order to examine the legitimate actors who make foreign policy decisions and determine the guidelines of German foreign policy. </p>

scholarly journals Political and administrative support of the American Exhibition of 1959 in Moscow

2021 ◽  
pp. 10-26
Author(s):  
Nikita Alekseevich Krasnoshchekov ◽  
Konstantin Anatol'evich Solov'ev
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Contemporary History ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Third Stage ◽  
Soviet Foreign Policy

The topic of decision-making in the sphere of foreign policy propaganda and counter-propaganda in the USSR of the mid XX century is poorly studied within the Russian historiography. The object of this research is the administrative decision-making process by political and administrative authorities in the context of reversal of directions and development of the new techniques in the Soviet foreign policy. The subject of this research is the organization of work on counter-propaganda in the process of preparing and hosting the American Exhibition in Moscow in 1959. The goal consists in determination of specificity of administrative activity in the sphere of propaganda and counter-propaganda. The author set the following tasks: identification of the organizational-administrative forms of ideological activity on the organization of exhibition; determination of the algorithm for making administrative decisions in this sphere; description of the tasks solved by the administrative authorities at different stages of this process depending on the implemented techniques. Research methodology is based on the documentary analysis (informative and textological) using the materials from the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History. The main conclusion lies in revealing the specificity of decision-making at different stages conducting such activity. The first stage is the analysis of actions of the American side and the forecast of possible response of the Soviet citizens to the information acquired during exhibition. This resulted in the development of preliminary proposals on adopting the measures to reduce the propaganda effect of the exhibition. The second stage is the political decision-making on holding the counter-propaganda events, development and approval of the particular action plan at the session of the Municipal Committee of CPSU. This stages mars the establishment of the two blocks of measures were formed: distraction of the Soviet citizens from exhibition, and measures on reduction of the propaganda effect (counter-propaganda). The third stage indicates positive perception of the exhibition by the Soviet citizens, which did not fully resolved the set tasks, and thus, required additional measures that would give the appearance of the critical attitude of Soviet people towards the exhibition.

Decision-making in American and British foreign policy: an open and shut case

1987 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zara Steiner
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
International System ◽  
National Interest ◽  
British Foreign Policy ◽  
International Environment ◽  
Common Problems ◽  
Policy Arena ◽  
Governmental Action

In the foreign policy arena, decision-making represents that area of governmental action where domestic and foreign interests intermesh. Regardless of size, resources or power, all states operate in an international environment not of their own making and not under their own control. This international system creates and limits the state's possible actions and reactions. At the same time, all those involved in national foreign policy making act in a domestic context which shapes the national interest and the choice of options. Given this Janus-like position, nations respond to common problems but evolve distinctive and different methods of handling them. A comparison between British and American practice reveals striking parallels and contrasts.

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