At the heart of political leadership lies choice. And at the heart of choice lies judgment. A leader's psychology and experience intersect with political realities to produce consequences that can make or break a leaderor a country. Nowhere is judgment more important than in the making of foreign policy. Good judgments can avoid wars, or win them. Poor judgments can start wars or lose them.
This book draws together a distinguished group of contributorspsychologists, political scientists, and policymakersto focus on and understand both good and poor judgment in foreign policy making. Case studies of key leadership decisions combine with theoretical overviews and analyses to offer a highly textured portrait of judgment in action in the all-important foreign policy arena. An up-to-the-minute case on George W. Bush and the war on terrorism applies good judgment theory to contemporary events.

Stanley A. Renshon is professor of political science and coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Program in the Psychology of Social and Political Behavior at the City University of New York Graduate Center.Deborah Welch Larson is professor of political science at University of California, Los Angeles.

Part 1 I The Nature of Good Judgment
Chapter 2 Good Judgment in Foreign Policy: Social Psychological Perspectives
Chapter 2 Psychological Sources of Good Judgment in Political Leaders: A Framework for Analysis
Part 4 II The Dynamics of Good Judgment: Appraisals and Images
Chapter 5 Appraising Good Judgment Before It Matters: Al Gore, George W. Bush and the 2000 Election Campaign
Chapter 6 Bad Guys and Bad Judgments
Part 7 III Judgments and Misjudgments in Foregin Policy Decisions
Chapter 8 Truman and the Berlin Blockade: The Role of Intuition and Experience in Good Foreign Policy Judgment
Chapter 9 Perceiving the End of Threat: Ronald Reagan and the Gorbachev Revolution
Chapter 10 Culture and Emotion as Obstacles to Good Judgment: The Case of Argentina's Invasion of the Falklands/Malvinas
Part 11 IV Improving the Quality of Judgment in Foreign Policy Decision Making
Chapter 12 Policy Planning: Oxymoron or Sine Qua Non for U.S. Foreign Policy?
Chapter 13 Why Foreign Policy (When It Comes to Judgment, at Least) is Not Pornography
Chapter 14 Analysis and Judgment in Policymaking
Part 15 V Reflections on Good Judgment in a Dangerous World
Chapter 16 The World According to George W. Bush: Good Judgment or Cowboy Politics?
Chapter 17 Politics, Uncertainty, and Values: Good Judgment in Context