Calculating Credibility
Subtitle: How Leaders Assess Military Threats (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: September 2005
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 238
ISBN-13: 9780801443435
Subjects: International relations; Risk assessment; Political Freedom & Security - International Secur; History & Theory - General; United States - 20th Century; Political Science; Politics / Current Events; Politics/International Relations; USA; Political Process - Leadership; Military - General; Evaluation; Threats; World War, 1939-1945; Case studies; Causes
First sentence: International politics occurs in the shadow of violence; threats are a common part of international relations.
Description: "Calculating Credibility examines - and ultimately rejects - a fundamental belief held by laypeople and the makers of American foreign policy: the notion that backing down during a crisis reduces a country's future credibility. Fear of diminished credibility motivated America's costly participation in the Korean and Vietnam wars, and, since the end of the Cold War, this concern has continued to guide American policy decisions. Daryl G. Press uses historical evidence, including declassified documents, to answer two crucial questions: When a country backs down in a crisis, does its credibility suffer? How do leaders assess their adversaries' credibility? Press illuminates the decision-making processes behind events such as the crises in Europe that preceded World War II, the superpower showdowns over Berlin in the 1950s and 60s, and the Cuban Missile Crisis."--Jacket.