Title:
[2] Beyond a Unitary Rational Actor: The Bush Administration and the Decision to Invade Iraq.
Summary:
Graham Allison’s examination of the Cuban Missile Crisis is one of the most influential international relations works of the 20th century. It assessed how actors make decisions under pressure and helped citizens understand the actions of their government. Up to this point most analysts predicted and explained the behaviour of governments only through a Rational Actor Model. However Allison and Zelikow also considered the roles that both individuals and organizations play in explaining the behaviour of governments in foreign affairs (Allison and Zelikow 1999, 4-5). The Invasion of Iraq in 2003 provides a modern case study with which …show more content…
The rational actor model argues a nation or government adopts the role of rational unitary decision maker. The organizational theory model considers the impact of processes and pre-established routines in decision making. The bureaucratic politics model theorizes that political influences of central leaders determine outcomes. Allison and Zelikow argue that these models can either be used exclusively or in combination. In this research paper the circumstances of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the application of these models will be considered and compared with the decision to invade Iraq.
Swansbrough, Robert H. 2008. Test by fire: the war presidency of George W. Bush. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Swansbrough examines the Iraq invasion through all three of Allison’s models, and argues that Bush’s decision to launch a pre-emptive war violated many of the core concepts of the rational actor model by disregarding key advisers and rejecting contrary policy recommendations. In applying the organizational theory model he reveals that the administration politicized the CIA through its inflated assessment of Saddam Hussain and by picking and choosing data. Finally he identified the influence of key individuals such as Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney in the decision making process through the bureaucratic politics model. These arguments …show more content…
In addressing the threats of WMDs, there is now a conflict between using multilateral regimes, like the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), or unilateral actions, like pre-emptive war. This analysis allows us to consider whether the changing characteristics of international conflict might influence the model or models through which such decisions are
[2] Beyond a Unitary Rational Actor: The Bush Administration and the Decision to Invade Iraq.
Summary:
Graham Allison’s examination of the Cuban Missile Crisis is one of the most influential international relations works of the 20th century. It assessed how actors make decisions under pressure and helped citizens understand the actions of their government. Up to this point most analysts predicted and explained the behaviour of governments only through a Rational Actor Model. However Allison and Zelikow also considered the roles that both individuals and organizations play in explaining the behaviour of governments in foreign affairs (Allison and Zelikow 1999, 4-5). The Invasion of Iraq in 2003 provides a modern case study with which …show more content…
The rational actor model argues a nation or government adopts the role of rational unitary decision maker. The organizational theory model considers the impact of processes and pre-established routines in decision making. The bureaucratic politics model theorizes that political influences of central leaders determine outcomes. Allison and Zelikow argue that these models can either be used exclusively or in combination. In this research paper the circumstances of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the application of these models will be considered and compared with the decision to invade Iraq.
Swansbrough, Robert H. 2008. Test by fire: the war presidency of George W. Bush. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Swansbrough examines the Iraq invasion through all three of Allison’s models, and argues that Bush’s decision to launch a pre-emptive war violated many of the core concepts of the rational actor model by disregarding key advisers and rejecting contrary policy recommendations. In applying the organizational theory model he reveals that the administration politicized the CIA through its inflated assessment of Saddam Hussain and by picking and choosing data. Finally he identified the influence of key individuals such as Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney in the decision making process through the bureaucratic politics model. These arguments …show more content…
In addressing the threats of WMDs, there is now a conflict between using multilateral regimes, like the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), or unilateral actions, like pre-emptive war. This analysis allows us to consider whether the changing characteristics of international conflict might influence the model or models through which such decisions are