Ebook: International Relations under Risk: Framing State Choice

Argues that international relations ought to be anchored in realistic models of human decision making.

The field of international relations is only now beginning to take notice of cognitive models of decision making. Arguing against the trend of adopting formalistic depictions of human choice, Berejikian suggests that international relations and realistic models of human decision making go hand-in-hand. The result is a set of interconnected propositions that provide compelling new insights into state behavior. Utilizing this framework, he discusses the behavior of the United States and Europe in negotiating the Montreal Protocol, a landmark international agreement designed to save the earth's protective ozone shield.

“This book challenges the rational choice assumptions that undergird much of the extant international relations literature on deterrence, bargaining, cooperation, economic behavior, and the exercise of power [and] Berejikian clearly succeeds in his effort to demonstrate the value of integrating empirical observations from cognitive psychology into our models of state interaction.” — Perspectives on Politics

"A very well-written, empirically-grounded contribution to the literature on prospect theory in international relations. If the use of psychological models in international relations is going to advance, it is just this kind of work, integrating disparate issues into a comprehensive theoretical explication, that will lead the way." — Rose McDermott, author of Risk-Taking in International Politics: Prospect Theory in American Foreign Policy

"Berejikian goes far beyond previous attempts to apply prospect theory to international relations. This book is a useful addition to this rising research program, particularly the application to the EU and the US in the Montreal Protocol." — Jack S. Levy, author of War in the Modern Great Power System, 1495–1975

Jeffrey D. Berejikian is Assistant Professor of International Affairs at the University of Georgia.