Presidential risk behavior in foreign policy

by William A. Boettcher

Bringing together research on the situational determinants of risk propensity and on individual personality predispositions, Boettcher draws on findings from political science, psychology, economics, business, and sociology to develop a Risk Explanation Framework (REF) to study the "person in the situation." Using structured, focused comparison, he examines six foreign policy cases from the Truman and Kennedy administrations to explore how aspirations, fears, time pressures, and other factors influence risk taking.