ABSTRACT

The themes of eclecticism and incrementalism pervade the "state-of-the-art" assessment of research on the roots of the behavior of foreign policy elites. The eclecticism is especially marked with respect to research techniques and methodologies. Researchers have selected from a lengthy menu of options. Empirical research in social psychology and behavioral decision theory complements the cognitive foreign policy work which emphasizes the limits on humans as information processing and decision-making systems. One of the benefits of cognitive research on foreign policy elites is that it will presumably reveal common biases and highlight implicit or hidden assumptions and thereby minimize the irrational and nonrational aspects of information processing and choice behavior. The concern with improving the policy process and with avoiding or reducing the likelihood of war and conflict is a continuing theme of inquiry on the foundations of the behavior of foreign policy elites.