Dealing with dictators : dilemmas of U.S. diplomacy and intelligence analysis, 1945-1990

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Title:

Dealing with dictators : dilemmas of U.S. diplomacy and intelligence analysis, 1945-1990

Author:

May, Ernest R.

ISBN:

9780262134590

9780262633246

Publication Information:

Cambridge, Mass. ; London : MIT, 2006.

Physical Description:

227 p. ; 25 cm.

Series:

BCSIA studies in international security

Series Title:

BCSIA studies in international security

Contents:

Introduction : seven tenets / Ernest R. May and Philip D. Zelikow -- Ch. 1. China, 1945-1948 : making hard choices / Ernest R. May, Kirsten Lundberg and Robert D. Johnson -- Ch. 2. The Congo, 1960-1963 : weighing worst choices / Charles G. Cogan, Ernest R. May, Kirsten Lundberg and Robert D. Johnson -- Ch. 3. Nicaragua, 1977-1979 : losing "our son-of-a-bitch" / Robert D. Johnson and Kirsten Lundberg -- Ch. 4. Iran, 1978-1979 : coping with the unthinkable / Gregory F. Treverton and James Klocke -- Ch. 5. The Philippines, 1983-1986 : arranging a divorce / William E. Kline, James Worthen, Kirsten Lundberg and Robert D. Johnson -- Ch. 6. Iraq, 1988-1990 : unexpectedly heading toward war / Zachary Karabell, Philip D. Zelikow, Ernest R. May, Kirsten Lundberg and Robert D. Johnson -- Ch. 7. Learning from the cases / Ernest R. May and Philip D. Zelikow.

Abstract:

"This book illustrates the chronic dilemmas inherent in U.S. dealings with dictators under conditions of uncertainty and moral ambiguity. The authors' insights shed new light on critical episodes in U.S. foreign policy and provide a basis for understanding the dilemmas that U.S. decision-makers confronted. The chapters do not focus on whether U.S. leaders made the "right" or "wrong" decisions, but instead seek to deepen our understanding of how uncertainty permeated the process and whether decision-makers and their aides asked the right questions. This approach makes the book invaluable to scholars and students of government and history, and to readers interested in the general subject of how intelligence analysis interacts with policymaking."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject Term:

Dictators.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Foreign relations -- 1945-1989.

Added Author:

May, Ernest R.

Zelikow, Philip, 1954-

Lundberg, Kirsten.

Johnson, Robert David, 1967-

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168020395477	327.73 M467D 2006	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

The United States continues to proclaim its support for democracy and its opposition to tyranny, but American presidents often have supported dictators who have allied themselves with the United States. This book illustrates the chronic dilemmas inherent in US dealings with dictators under conditions of uncertainty and moral ambiguity. Dealing with Dictators offers in-depth analysis of six cases: the United States and China, 1945-1948; UN intervention in the Congo, 1960-1965; the overthrow of the Shah of Iran; US relations with the Somoza regime in Nicaragua; the fall of Marcos in the Philippines; and US policy toward Iraq, 1988-1990. The authors' fascinating and revealing accounts shed new light on critical episodes in US foreign policy and provide a basis for understanding the dilemmas that US decision makers confronted. The chapters do not focus on whether US leaders made the "right" or "wrong" decisions, but instead seek to deepen our understanding of how uncertainty permeated the process and whether decision makers and their aides asked the right questions. This approach makes the book invaluable to scholars and students of government and history, and to readers interested in the general subject of how intelligence analysis interacts with policymaking.