Strategic Choice and International Relations

by David A. Lake, Robert Powell

Overview

The strategic-choice approach has a long pedigree in international relations. In an area often rent by competing methodologies, editors David A. Lake and Robert Powell take the best of accepted and contested knowledge among many theories. With the contributors to this volume, they offer a unifying perspective, which begins with a simple insight: students of international relations want to explain the choices actors make—whether these actors be states, parties, ethnic groups, companies, leaders, or individuals.


This synthesis offers three new benefits: first, the strategic interaction of actors is the unit of analysis, rather than particular states or policies; second, these interactions are now usefully organized into analytic schemes, on which conceptual experiments may be based; and third, a set of methodological "bets" is then made about the most productive ways to analyze the interactions. Together, these elements allow the pragmatic application of theories that may apply to a myriad of particular cases, such as individuals protesting environmental degradation, governments seeking to control nuclear weapons, or the United Nations attempting to mobilize member states for international peacekeeping. Besides the editors, the six contributors to this book, all distinguished scholars of international relations, are Jeffry A. Frieden, James D. Morrow, Ronald Rogowski, Peter Gourevitch, Miles Kahler, and Arthur A. Stein. Their work is an invaluable introduction for scholars and students of international relations, economists, and government decision-makers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691026978
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	08/08/1999
Series:	Political Science/ International Relations Series
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	7.75(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

David A. Lake is Research Director for International Relations at the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, and Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of Entangling Relations (Princeton). Robert Powell is Robson Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He has written widely on the application of game theory to issues in strategic studies and international relations theory. He is the author of Nuclear DeterrenceTheory: The Search for Credibility and In the Shadow of Power.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Chapter One International Relations: A Strategic-Choice Approach David A. Lake and Robert Powell 3

Chapter Two Actors and Preferences in International Relations Jeffry A. Frieden 39

Chapter Three The Strategic Setting of Choices: Signaling, Commitment, and Negotiation in International Politics James D. Morrow 77

Chapter Four Institutions as Constraints on Strategic Choice Ronald Rogowski 115

Chapter Five The Governance Problem in International Relations Peter Alexis Gourevitch 137

Chapter Six Evolution, Choice, and International Change Miles Kabler 165

Chapter Seven The Limits of Strategic Choice: Constrained Rationality and Incomplete Explanation Arthur A. Stein 197

References 229

About the Authors 261

Name Index 263

General Index 267

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This is one of the best edited volumes in international relations I have seen. This is an impressive book that should have a substantial impact on the field."—Lisa Martin, Harvard University

Lisa Martin

This is one of the best edited volumes in international relations I have seen. This is an impressive book that should have a substantial impact on the field.
— Lisa Martin, Harvard University

Editorial Reviews

"Highly recommended for international relations theorists and policy practitioners."

Choice

"Lake skillfully investigates an important dimension of international behavior unduly neglected by traditional theory, and his analysis of the early Cold War is particularly insightful. This is, on balance, an innovative and challenging work that deepens our understanding of American internationalism in the twentieth century."—-Frank Ninkovich, American Historical Review

From the Publisher

"Elegant and groundbreaking . . . a useful and insightful framework to guide debates over American foreign policy."

Foreign Affairs

Lake skillfully investigates an important dimension of international behavior unduly neglected by traditional theory, and his analysis of the early Cold War is particularly insightful. This is, on balance, an innovative and challenging work that deepens our understanding of American internationalism in the twentieth century.

American Historical Review - Frank Ninkovich

Lake skillfully investigates an important dimension of international behavior unduly neglected by traditional theory, and his analysis of the early Cold War is particularly insightful. This is, on balance, an innovative and challenging work that deepens our understanding of American internationalism in the twentieth century.
— Frank Ninkovich

American Historical Review