Filling a gap in the U.S. foreign policy textbook market, this innovative introduction shows students how real American foreign policy makers make real decisions. Drawing on and summarizing a vast amount of literature, author David Patrick Houghton introduces students to three basic theories of decision-making. He then applies each of these perspectives to six well-known historical cases that range from classic to contemporary: the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Kosovo War, and the Iraq War. Houghton uses the crucial "decision points" of these events to give students a sense of what it is actually like to make high-level decisions. He also shows how the theories discussed in the book can be applied to these case studies.

Featuring a direct, accessible writing style, coverage of recent advances in the field--including new psychological models like prospect theory and poliheuristic theory--and an affordable price, The Decision Point: Six Cases in U.S. Foreign Policy Decision Making serves as a perfect text or supplement for courses in U.S. Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Decision-Making.

David Patrick Houghton is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida. He is the author of three other books, including Political Psychology: Situations, Individuals, and Cases (2008) and U.S. Foreign Policy and the Iran Hostage Crisis (2001) and numerous articles published in internationally known journals.