PSCI 3107 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Rationality, Social Forces

• School: Carleton University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: PSCI 3107
• Professor: Brian Schmidt

Document Summary

Any explanation of war must incorporate a model of decision making. Theories must focus on the individuals and governmental organizations that are empowered to make and implement policies on behalf of the state. That external and internal structures and social forces are not translated directly into foreign policy choices o. Structural theory has been seen to be valid in the cold war. The us and ussr were very different and yet they both acted in very similar ways o. Key decision makers very in their definitions of interests, assessments of those interests, and beliefs as the best strategies to achieve those interests. Did anarchy cause wwi, or was it the decisions made by the leaders of the empires involved? o. That differences in the content of actors" belief systems, in the psychological processes through which they acquire information and make judgements and decisions o.