Leaders, Groups and Coalitions

How do we determine whose positions count in the making of foreign policy? Does it matter how these policy makers are configured? Does the decision-making process such people engage in influence the type of policy that results? This volume synthesizs the literatures on leadership, group dynamics, organizational theory, and coalition politics to demonstrate how the nature of the decision unity shapes foreign policy.

• Synthesizes theories on leadership, group dynamics, organizational theory, and coalition politics to demonstrate how the nature of the decision unit shapes foreign policy
• Authors explore how policymakers' preferences become aggregated in the foreign policymaking process when there is a predominant leader or there are single groups or coalitions

Preface.

Part I: Does Decision Making Matter? Joe D. Hagan.

Part II: How Decision Units Shape Foreign Policy: A Theoretical Framework: Margaret G. Hermann.

Part III: Who Leads Matters: The Effects of Powerful Individuals: Margaret G. Hermann; Thomas Preston; Baghat Korany; Timothy M. Shaw.

Part IV: Resolve, Accept, or Avoid: Effects of Group Conflict on Foreign Policy Decisions: Charles F. Hermann; Janice Gross Stein; Bengt Sundelius; Stephen G. Walker.

Part V: Foreign Policy by Coalition: Deadlock, Compromise, and Anarchy: Joe D. Hagan; Philip P. Everts; Haruhiro Fukui; John D. Stempel.

Part VI: People and Processes in Foreign Policymaking: Insights from Comparative Case Studies: Ryan K. Beasley; Juliet Kaarbo; Charles F. Hermann; Margaret G. Hermann.

Joe D. Hagan is a Professor of Political Science at West Virginia University.

Magaret G. Hermann is a Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University.

How do we determine whose positions count in the making of foreign policy? Does it matter how these policymakers are configured? Does the decision-making process such people engage in influence the type of policy that results? This volume synthesizes the literatures on leadership, group dynamics, organizational theory, and coalition politics to demonstrate how the nature of the decision unit shapes foreign policy. Beginning with a systematic assessment of the position of decision-making theory in the study of international politics, contributors explore how policymakers' preferences become aggregated in the foreign policymaking process when there is a predominant leader or they are organized into single groups or coalitions. The book is comparative in nature examining the foreign policy decisions of countries from all regions of the world.