Pathos and policy: the power of emotions in shaping perceptions of international relations
Current approaches to foreign policy decision making and international conflict have ignored the role of emotions as variables influencing foreign policy choices. However, a growing area of political research suggests that emotions are of critical importance to many aspects of political life. Predom...
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| Format: | Others |
| Language: | en_US |
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Texas A&M University
2006
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/4209 |
| Summary: | Current approaches to foreign policy decision making and international conflict
have ignored the role of emotions as variables influencing foreign policy choices.
However, a growing area of political research suggests that emotions are of critical
importance to many aspects of political life. Predominant foreign policy decision making
models currently attend to either rational calculations or âÂÂcoldâ cognitive processes and
heuristics. These models provide little theoretical space for propositions about how
enduring and intense emotions such as hatred and fear influence perceptions and
interpretations of interstate conflict. In this paper we propose a model which addresses
this deficiency in foreign policy decision making research. A theory of emotions is
introduced and integrated into the existing research on foreign policy decision making.
Hypotheses pertaining to the influence of negative emotions on information processing
and choice in international relations are derived from the model and tested in a multimethod
setting. Findings are reported and discussed within the framework of existing
empirical research on process-oriented models of foreign policy decision making. |
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