Risk and Presidential Decision-making

Luca Trenta holds a PhD from the School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University. He is a Lecturer in International Relations in the Department of Political and Cultural Studies, Swansea University.

• Introduction: Risk and the Cold War/post-Cold War divide Chapter 1: Risk in International Relations and foreign policy Chapter 2: A new framework: risk vs. risk trade-offs, crises and International Relations Chapter 3: ‘I should have said that we don’t care:’ the Kennedy Administration and Cuba, 1961-1962 Chapter 4: ‘We are sticking with the Shah: the Carter Administration and Iran, 1977-1979 Chapter 5: ‘Why is this happening and we are not doing anything?’ The Clinton Administration and the risky road to Srebrenica, 1992-1995 Conclusion

'This path breaking study identifies the President as the ultimate manager always having to balance between the demands of the American people and the requirements of remaining a great power. The author makes more than a significant contribution to the field: he breaks new ground. An excellent volume' - Professor Michael Cox Director. IDEAS, LSE 'Do U.S. Presidents assess risk differently today than they did during the Cold War? Luca Trenta has written an engaging book exploring how American Presidents use the concepts of "risk" and "risk management" in their decision-making. He deftly compares crises during and after the Cold War to convincingly demonstrate a significant consistency between how U.S. leaders craft policy in the two eras. Using insights from broader international relations theory—especially sociological theories, Trenta reframes the traditional literature on foreign policy analysis to give us a broader understanding of how leaders cope with risk. A conceptually impressive account, this book will interest scholars of international politics, but also students of decision-making under uncertainty.' - Jasen J. Castillo, Associate Professor, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University 'For those interested in studying US foreign policy through the lens of 'risk', this is an indispensable book. Trenta's command of both the conceptual literature and his case studies is formidable.' - Adam Quinn, University of Birmingham, UK