Models of Foreign Policy Decision-making
Response to peer Robert
Robert, you began your discussion by listing and explaining the three models that Allison discussed which is good because it makes it easy for those people who do not have time to read the entire article to become aware of the models. I agree with you that model I is more compelling plus the explanation you have given is sufficient. The purpose of the government was to look for the best interest of the nation by seeking an action that would maximize their objectives and strategic goals. According to realists, a moral agency should be seen as a state of dilemma, which is practical because they have to make a choice between fighting for a just cause and not fighting (Dobson and Steve 3). This best explains your point Ariel in regards to events that led to Cuban Missile Crisis which makes model 1 a more compelling reason.
You have mentioned the structure of the organizational process model to explain intelligence failure. I agree with you that by each having substantial life of their own, they became vulnerable to failure. However, you have mentioned that there is hope for change, how is this possible and will it affect decision-making policy?
Response to Ariel
Ariel, your introduction to the discussion is not only catchy, but also superb. I agree with your explanation regarding rational actor model in explaining Cuban crisis. This is because every decision has subsequent consequences. According to Allison, commitments and mistakes such as irrational decisions can bound a nation to crisis (Allison 692). The national government is the actor in this case and their decision on policy making is a calculated response that it is making to respond to a strategic problem. This is the reason the Cuban government made the decision to accept the missiles in their nation for Soviet Union and United States regardless of the fact that the subsequent consequence was the crisis.
You are right to indicate that organization’s output is the result of organizational process model. As you have mentioned, the reasons the organizations have a tendency of making their own polices is because of the benefits. The consequences of the decision are the driving power of the choice in this case. Ariel, you have also mentioned the game of bargaining power, does this mean that the actors are the key players in decision making?
Works Cited
Allison, Graham T. “Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis.” The American Political Science Review, 63.3 (1969): 689-718. Print.
Dobson, Alan P. and Steve, Marsh. US Foreign Policy Since 1945 – Chapter 1. Florence: Taylor and Francis, 2006. Print.