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ALEX MINTZ, KARL DeROUEN Jr. Understanding Foreign Policy Decision-Making Cambridge University Press, New York, 2010, 208 pp.
More than a decade since the Decisionmaking on War and Peace1 was published, and after a string of books and articles meant to develop the model of foreign policy analysis from a decisionmaking perspective, Mintz and DeRouen Jr. partner to develop this manual aiming to bring together and deliver to students and scholars an ambitious framework consisting of the theories, models and concepts used in Foreign Policy Decision Making (FPDM), along with illustrative case studies and theoretical exercises. The FPDM model rests on the theories derived from political psychology and, as such, is an alternative to the rational actor model of decision making. It is by comparison and contrast with the established models and theories that Mintz and DeRouen Jr. explain and test their model.
Alex Mintz is a reputed advocate for the use of political psychology, especially the polyheuristic theory, in foreign policy analysis. Karl DeRouen Jr. is another prominent scholar of international relations with an interest in political psychology. The main purpose behind Mintz and DeRouen's endeavor is "to explain not only outcomes of decisions but also the processes that lead to decisions and the decision dynamics" (p. i).The objective of such a comprehensive undertaking is the holy grail of political scientific pursuit: "If we can understand how decisions are made, we can better understand and, perhaps more important, predict outcomes in the international arena" (p. 4).
In order to satisfy such an ambitious undertaking, Mintz and DeRouen structure their analysis on four main components: the decision environment; models of decision...