Robert Jervis, “How Statesmen Think: The Psychology of International Politics” (Princeton UP, 2017)

Robert Jervis is the author of How Statesmen Think: The Psychology of International Politics (Princeton University Press, 2017). Jervis is the Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Politics at Columbia University. Drawing on the increasing attention researchers in the field of psychology are paying to emotions, Jervis shows how emotional needs structure beliefs. For example, the desire to conserve cognitive resources can cause policy-makers to look at misleading indicators of military power, and psychological pressures can lead them to take unusually high risks. How Statesmen Think also looks at how deterrent threats and counterpart promises often fail because they are misperceived. You can read an introduction to the book here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology