Kevin Dougherty, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, is the assistant commandant for leadership programs and an adjunct professor at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina.

• Table of ContentsPrefaceIntroductionChapter 1: The Rational Actor ModelExample 1: Truman’s Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb on Japan, 1945Example 2: Reagan’s Decision to Bomb Libya, 1986Example 3: Bush’s Decision to Halt Operation Desert Storm, 1991Utility of the Rational Actor ModelChapter 2: Prospect TheoryExample 1: Washington’s Decision to Attack Trenton, 1776Example 2: Meade’s Decision Not to Pursue Lee After Gettysburg, 1863Example 3: Clinton’s Decision to Withdraw from Somalia, 1993Utility of the Prospect TheoryChapter 3: Poliheuristic TheoryExample 1: Eisenhower’s Decision Not to Intervene in Hungary, 1956Example 2: Kennedy’s Authorization of the Bay of Pigs, 1961Example 3: Johnson’s Decision to De-escalate US Involvement in Vietnam, 1968Utility of the Poliheuristic TheoryChapter 4: The Bureaucratic ModelExample 1: The Confederate Departmental System’s Impact on the Vicksburg Campaign, 1862–1863Example 2: The ­Army–Air Force Helicopter Rivalry, 1950s–1960sExample 3: The Department of State and the Department of Defense and the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in Beirut, 1982Utility of the Bureaucratic ModelChapter 5: The Organizational Process ModelExample 1: Strategic Formulation in the Vietnam War, 1960s–1970sExample 2: The Decision to Abort the Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission, 1980Example 3: The Federalization of the California Army National Guard During the Los Angeles Riot, 1992Utility of the Organizational Process ModelChapter 6: The Small Group ModelExample 1: The Blockade Board in the Civil War, 1861Example 2: The Executive Committee During the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962Example 3: The Restricted Interagency Group in Developing a Strategy Toward Nicaragua, 1980sUtility of the Small Group ModelChapter 7: The Elite TheoryExample 1: The Influence of the Congressional Black Caucus in the Decision to Intervene in Haiti, 1993 and 1994Example 2: The Role of the Media in the Decision to Intervene in Somalia, 1992Example 3: The Agenda of Secretary of State Madeline Albright in the Decision to Intervene in Kosovo, 1999Utility of the Elite TheoryChapter 8: The Pluralist ModelExample 1: Conscription in the Confederate Army, 1861–1864Example 2: The Reflagging of Kuwaiti Tankers in the Midst of the ­Iran-Iraq War, 1987–1988Example 3: The Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia, 1995Utility of the Pluralist ModelEpilogueChapter NotesBibliographyIndex