When and which the leader matter? Under what conditions might it be more fruitful to examine leader characteristics? A variety of hypotheses come to mind...
1. Different regimes types offer different levels of constraint on leader control of policy.
2. Whether a leader is interested in FP or not. Leader uninterested in FP may delegate a large measure of authority to subordinates, in which case it would be vital to identify and examine their characteristics as well.
3. Crisis situations will invariably be handled at the highest levels of government power, and almost by definition top leaders will be involved regardless of their general level of interest in foreign affair.
4. When advisors are unable to “read” a situation because information is sparse or contradictiory, a leader may be called upon to exercise his or her judgement so that a basis for FP decision making is laid.
5. The degree of the leader has had diplomatic training (Margaret Hermann, 1984). The leader with prior training have learned to subordinate their personal characteristics to the diplomatic requirement of situation at hand.
6. Expertise in a particular issue are or region of the world may also signal that a particular leadr, even if he is not the top leader, may leave a personal imprint on the policy eventually chosen.
7. Style of leadership: does the leader like to delegate information processing and decision task or prefer to sort through the intelligence himself/ herself, providing a much more hands-on style of leadership?
8. Groups, whether small/ large, tend to evolve into contexts in which particular individuals play a given role on a fairly consistent basis.
Research was conducted on “cognitive constraints”, including cognitive bias, heuristic error, the motivation of leaders, cognitive maps, scripts and schemas, cognitive style, and the life experience of decision makers. The following diagram outlines the key concepts that we will be exploring in this chapter:
Increasing attention was directed to the mind of the foreign policy decision-maker. The societal context in which the decision-maker operates is shaped by several factors such as culture, history, geography, economics, political institutions, ideology, and demographics. Within this societal context, the individual mind is unique in its own personal beliefs, attitudes, values, experiences, emotions, traits, style, memory, national, and self-conceptions. To better understand foreign policy, researchers directed their attention to the socio-psychological context of the decision-maker.
a. Individual Characteristics
Political psychology was employed to understand the personal characteristics of the decision-maker. Under certain stressful conditions these individual characteristics would become crucial in understanding foreign policy decisions. Efforts were made to categorize decision-makers according to their foreign policy dispositions.
In addition, the role of perceptions and images in foreign policy was also an important research agenda during this time. Misperception in foreign policy situations could have grave consequences, and was furnished by the rampant use of stereotypical images with reference to the 'enemy'.
Research was conducted on 'cognitive constraints', including cognitive bias, heuristic error, the motivation of leaders, cognitive maps, scripts, and schemas, cognitive style, and the life experience of decision makers.
b. National and Societal Characteristics
The decision-maker's perception of its nation's 'role' in the international arena began to be studied. Once a 'national role conception' was perceived, decision-makers could make their decisions to fit according to the conceptual mould.
In addition, the study of culture as an independent variable affecting foreign policy came to the forefront; analysts considered that the very process of policymaking might be stamped by one's cultural heritage and socialisation.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, FPA asserts that leaders do matter and that analysis of perception, cognition, and personality of world leaders is well worth undertaking. In addition, FPA draws upon a wide variety of techniques to make such an analysis possible, despite the unavailability of world leaders for direct observation. That’s all...
No comments:
Post a Comment