The Kissinger Administration: An Analysis of the Effect of Kissinger's Personality on the Yom Kippur War Crisis Decision-Making Process
Keywords
Loading...
Authors
Issue Date
2016-06-15
Language
en
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This thesis exposes the influence of Henry Kissinger’s personality on the Yom Kippur War decision-making process. The research question that accompanies this is the following: “What was the influence of Kissinger’s personality on the Yom Kippur War crisis decision-making process?” A crisis is, by definition, an unexpected event. It is an ambiguous situation that requires a quick response and a critical point in the history of a state (Roberts 10). A crisis situation is essentially different from routine events and is characterized by the perceptions of the decision-maker of (1) a severe threat to national interests that result in (2) a surprise with (3) only little time to act in response. While this thesis does not undermine the importance of organizational structures, foreign policy routines, and bureaucratic models there is a strong emphasis on the fact that during crises, decision-making is ruled by other dynamics. It is a dominant perception that crises are managed by small groups of individuals in a highly personal way driven by individual perceptions of the situation (Haney 9). Organizational structures may loose their importance as personalities increase in significance and take over crisis decision-making.
Description
Citation
Supervisor
Faculty
Faculteit der Letteren