MVZ491 The Politics of Decision-making: American Presidents, Israeli Prime Ministers, and crisis

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2016

The course is not taught in Spring 2016

Extent and Intensity
1/1. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Aaron Walter, MBA, Ph.D. (lecturer), PhDr. Petr Suchý, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Petr Suchý, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Supplier department: Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Thu 13:30–15:00 U43
Prerequisites (in Czech)
Course description Leaders make decisions based on a complex interplay of political, psychological, cultural, social, and organizational factors that often determine the effectiveness of the policies and the actions that may result from them. Domestic and international crisis also affect the decisions in ways that sometimes boost and sometimes constrain leaders. This course will focus on the connections between the dynamics of foreign policy decisions and the substance of specific foreign policy crisis. In this course, students will learn the relationships among the various decision types, how they are and they were chosen, the constraints that work for or against effective decisions, the environmental influences affecting said decisions, and the substance of actual, historical foreign policy decisions. There will be case studies. Each case study is a crisis. Those that have been chosen have been done either for their decision type and how the leader with or without other policymakers concluded the crisis. While some case studies are well known others may not be. Course objectives This course aims to provide the student with an understanding of decision types and how political, psychological, cultural, social, and organizational factors influence said decision during crisis. Therefore, providing comprehension on various themes, historical events, and personalities of American and Israeli leaders. The course is intended to provide students with the tools needed to follow with a critical eye historical and present events i.e. crisis in the Middle East. The structure of the course is simple and concise. An initial overview of a topic will be followed by interesting case studies, focused on key decision-making. Many of these studies center upon crisis situations, which tested the leaders and often defined them or the relationship between the two nations. After these case studies, discussion on some controversial contemporary aspects of the subject will occur. Finally, as students you will upon completion: 1. Analyze selected case studies using knowledge of theory, history and the political pro-cess. 2. Demonstrate research, analytical, writing, and presentation skills.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives (in Czech)
Learning outcomes By the end of the course, you should be able to: • Describe the development of the modern presidency and prime ministership to evaluate the consequences, and outcomes of decisions making process during crisis; • Explain the formal and informal mechanisms that leaders can use to achieve objectives when interacting with other branches of government, the bureaucracy, and the public in dealing with crisis situations; • Identify the institutional and political constraints that limit the leaders ability to achieve decision making; • Assess the leaders influence on foreign policy; • Analyze the major factors affecting the successful outcome of crisis; • Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.
Syllabus (in Czech)
  • CASE STUDIES Case Study 1: Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) Case Study 2: The Yom Kipper War and U.S. Airlift of 1973 Case Study 3: The First Lebanon War (1982) Case Study 4: The First Intifada (1988) Case Study 5: War and Terror (1998) Case Study 6: 9/11 Terror Attack (2001) Case Study 7: Gaza (2005) Case Study 8: The Second Lebanon War (2006) Required Readings For this course, the readings will range widely. There is no one textbook. There are several. I have select chapters assigned. Also, I have select PDF and various journal and OpEd articles, taken from a wide range of authors. Course Materials The attached list outlines the readings for each class session. Books with selected chap-ters and PDF links are below: Books and PDF Ivo Daalder and I.M. Destler. 2009. In the Shadow of the Oval Office. Simon & Schuster. George C. Edwards and Stephen J. Wayne. 2014. Presidential Leadership, 9th edition. Thomson Wadsworth. Alexander L. George. 1980. Presidential Decision-making in Foreign Policy. Westview Press, ch 2, "Psychological Aspects of Decision-making,” Christopher Hemmer, Which Lessons Matter? American Foreign Policy Decision Making in the Middle East, 1979-1987. Irving L. Janis. 1989. Crucial Decisions: Leadership in Policymaking and Crisis Management The Free Press. Samuel Kernell. 2007. Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership, 4th edition, Congressional Quarterly Press. Alex Mintz. 2010. Understanding Foreign Policy Decision Making. Cambridge University Press. Richard E. Neustadt. 1990. Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents, The Free Press. Steven J. Rubenzer & Thomas R. Faschingbauer, Personality, Character, and Leadership In the White House: Psychologists Assess the Presidents; Israel Decision-Making (PDF): http://www.alzaytouna.net/english/books/Israeli_Decision_Making.pdf Israeli Decision-Making in 1967 and 1973 (PDF): http://www.e-ir.info/2014/03/16/pre-emption-and-israeli-decision-making-in-1967-and-1973/ Israel and Crisis (PDF): http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/freilich_mej_autumn_2006.pdf Themes The Nature of Executive Power James Fallows, “Obama, Explained,” The Atlantic, March 2012. Fathom. Life and Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin (PDF): http://fathomjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Rabin-ebook-edited.pdf The Federalist Papers #47 and #70. Maureen Dowd (2013), “President Obama Is No Bully in the Pulpit,” New York Times, April 20, 2013 Ezra Klein (2012), “The Unpersuaded,” The New Yorker, March 19, 2012 Ezra Klein (2013), “Obama’s Three Fateful Leadership Tests,” Bloomberg View, April 17, 2013 Ryan Lizza (2012), “The Obama Memos,” The New Yorker, January 30, 2012 Rhetorical Power George C. Edwards III (2009), The Strategic President: Persuasion and Opportunity in Presi-dential Leadership, Ch. 4. Samuel Kernell, Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership, chapter 5, pp. 110-147. Interpreting Israeli decision-making (PDF): http://www.wikistrat.com/interpreting-israeli-decision-making/ Michael Nelson, "The Psychological Presidency," in Nelson, The Presidency and the Political System, pp. 167-190. Decision Making Approaches and Models Alexander L. George, Presidential Decision-making in Foreign Policy (Boulder: Westview Press, 1980), ch 2, "Psychological Aspects of Decision-making," pp. 25- 63. Irving L. Janis, Crucial Decisions: Leadership in Policymaking and Crisis Management (New York: The Free Press, 1989), chs. 2 & 3. pp. 27-63. Israeli decision making (PDF): http://icsr.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/1304694112ICSR_AtkinPaperSeries_GilMurciano.pdf Isreaeli Studies. https://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/israel_studies/v003/3.2schulze.html Richard E. Neustadt, Presidential Power, chapter 7, pp. 128-151. James P. Pfiffner, “Decision Making in the Obama White House,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, (June 2011), pp. 244-262. Richard Russell, “American Military Retaliation for Terrorism: Judging the Merits of the 1998 Cruise Missile Strikes in Afghanistan and Sudan,” Washington, DC: Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, 2000. Caitlin Smith. “Personality in Foreign Policy Decision Making”. http://www.e-ir.info/2012/10/16/personality-in-foreign-policy-decision-making/ The Psychology of Israeli Decision Making (PDF): http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/02/08/benjamin-netanyahu-v-yair-lapid-and-the-psychology-of-israeli-decision-making/ National Security Policy Edwards and Wayne, “Foreign and Defense Policy Making,” Presidential Leadership, chapter 13, pp. 461-486. William G. Howell and Jon C. Rogowski (2013), “War, the Presidency, and Legislative Voting Behavior,” American Journal of Political Science Benny Morris. “Camp David and After” New York Times Review of Books. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2002/06/13/camp-david-and-after-an-exchange-1-an-interview-wi/ James P. Pfiffner, “Decision Making in the Obama White House,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, (June 2011), pp. 244-262. James Pfiffner, “Presidential Leadership and Advice About Going to War,” pp. 135-157 in Terry L. Price and J. Thomas Wren eds., The Values of Presidential Leadership, 2007. The Price Israel Pays (PDF): http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/06/the-price-israel-pays-for-its-poor-national-security-decision-making/276706/ American Presidents, and Israeli Prime Ministers in Crisis
Assessment methods (in Czech)
Requirements The following course requires: (1) assigned readings; (2) class attendance and appropriate con-tributions to section discussions; (3) two short-essay analysis papers; (4) a mid-term examination; and (5) a final examination or research paper. Grading • 20 percent on participation. • 20 percent for each of the two short papers. • 10 percent for midterm. • 50 percent on the final examination.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught only once.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2016, recent)
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