Synopses & Reviews
This classic work has helped shape the field of international relations and especially influenced scholars interested in how foreign policy is made. At a time when conventional wisdom and traditional approaches are being questioned, and when there is increased interest in the importance of process, the insights of Snyder, Bruck and Sapin have continuing and increased relevance. Prescient in its focus on the effects on foreign policy of individuals and their preconceptions, organizations and their procedures, and cultures and their values,
Foreign Policy Decision-Making is of continued relevance for anyone seeking to understand the ways foreign policy is made. Their seminal framework is here complemented by two new chapters examining its influence on generations of scholars, the current state of the field, and areas for future research.
Review
'This book makes abundantly clear the sustained freshness of Snyder, Bruck and Sapin's path-breaking and dauntingly original work, which has long set the agenda for the systematic explanation of foreign policy decisions. Thevery thoughtful essays prepared for the present volume demonstrate dramatically the continued centrality of the issues Snyder and his associates raised more than 40 years ago. We ignore them only at great risk." --Charles F. Hermann, Texas A&M University
"Snyder, Bruck and Sapin's classic work is combined here with two insightful essays, which demonstrate not only its impact on and continuing relevance for the study of foreign policy decision making, but also point to thecurrent frontiers and emerging new directions in this rich research tradition. While the classic deserves to be read - reread - in its own right, the essays by Hudson and Chollet and Goldgeier underscore its importance." --Marijke Breuning, Truman State University
"Half a century ago, Snyder, Bruck, and Sapin urged us to open the "black box" of foreign policy decision making. Their sensible advice, as timely today as ever before, is well worth sharing with a new generation ofstudents and researchers." -- Steven W. Hook, Kent State University
"Snyder, Bruck, and Sapin's essay is deservedly recognized as a classic in international relations scholarship and its relevance for contemporary foreign policymaking, especially the discussion of information and communication, is impressive. The new accompanyingessays show how ideas and concepts first presented over forty years ago helped to shape a field of study, and even presaged some of thedebates that occupy us today. The book is ideal for both undergraduate and graduate courses on American or comparative foreign policy." -- David Kinsella, Portland State University
Synopsis
Preface Introduction; R.C.Snyder Decision-Making as an Approach to the Study of International Politics; R.C.Snyder, H.W.Bruck & B.Sapin The Influence of 'Foreign Policy Decision Making'; V.Hudson Whither Foreign Policy Analysis; D.Chollett & J.Goldgeier
Synopsis
Perhaps no work has been as important to foreign policy analysis as the classic
Foreign Policy Decision-Making. Here is the classic work, with two new chapters assessing the current state of the field and areas for future research.
About the Author
Richard C. Snyder taught political science at Northwestern University, University of California, Irvine, and Ohio State University.
Burton Sapin is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Relations at George Washington University.
Valerie M. Hudson is Professor of Political Science, Brigham Young University. Derek H. Chollet is a Research Associate at The George Washington University.
James M. Goldgeier is the Director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at George Washington University and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Table of Contents
Foreward--Burton Sapin * Introduction--Richard C. Snyder * Decision-Making as an Approach to th Study of International Politics--Richard C. Snyder, H.W. Bruck and Burton Sapin * Foreign Policy Decision Making as a Touchstone for International Relations Theory in the Twenty-first Century--Valerie M. Hudson * Whither Decision-Making Analysis--Derek Chollet and James M. Goldgeier