STRONG LEADERS

Those that have the ability to persuade others to go forward. They also must accept defeat and face the consequences

Some want to be peacemakers rather than fighters.

Example: Reagan and Gorbachev

arms control

WEAK LEADERS

Unable to hold their staff in check

Would rather save face than admit weakness or defeat

Afraid they might be considered a villan if they go against the moral factor.

Example:

President Truman who ordered the use of the atomic bomb

SMALL GROUPS

A small group of people, who the leader hopes will side with them, that comes together to make decisions that will effect the world. Small groups are more risk takers as no one individual will be blamed for a bad outcome.

Example:

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy called together a greoup of 16 to help make decisions.

EXCLUDING BAD NEWS

This is when a person does not want to look bad in the eyes of their commander so they do not tell the bad part or change some facts or if a leader has selective atention because they are set on a certain course and choose to disregard what they do not want to hear and focus on information that beliefs.

Example:

The White House officials, prior to invading Iraq, only used intelligence information that supported going to war, they also intimidated CIA and State Department officials

DECISION MAKING PRESSURES

Decisons made under pressure such as during a war can cause high stress and the decision making process can be flawed.

Example:

Things that cause pressure in decision making can be:

Time, responsibility, incomplete data, too much information, limited options, short term effects vs long term implications, an unexpected surprise that need on the spot decison and even personal stress.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Prevent the escalation of war, keep leaders in control of a situation and to gain the maximum advantage. One leader tries to make the other back down from a situation.

Example:

The Cuban Missile Crisis and President Kennedy, each side it was suggested would threaten an action and then there was a reaction until which time they came to a decison to talk things our and find a compromise.

CRISIS IN THE NUCLEAR AGE

A leader must make quick decisions and the right decisions because once the nuclear bomb has been detinated, there is no going back.

Example:

Herman Kahn developed a 44 point nuclear profile beginning with slow-motion counterproperty and escalating to insensate war.

RATIONAL DECISION MAKING

Being able to identify an alternate course of action, the cost verses the gain, know the difference between possible and probable, see the situation from everyones view, understand the difference in important and unimportant information, resist the urge to charge forward without thinking first, able to make adjustments to change.

Example:

Theodore Sorensen on the Cuban Missile Crisis

"I saw first hand, during the long days and nights of the Cuban crisis, how brutally physical and mental fatigue can numb the good sense as well as the senses or normally articulate men."

REGARDING PERCEPTION AND COGNITION

One or both sides have the feeling that they are going to be attacked by the other side. In a situation both sides feel they can win.  When one sidedoes not have the full knowledge of the  other side disaster can happen if they go to war. Underestimating their opponent is a very true and disasterous idea.

Example:

The united States official misjudged the Iranian revolution because they were slow in seeing how strong Iran was as it went against their belief that Iran was that strong and forceful.

MISCOMMUNICATION

Language and miss understood communications can lead to just the opposite of what a leader is trying to accomplish.

Example:

The Mokusatsu Affair

In 1945 allies issued a surrender to Japan. Japan understood it as ignore. President Truman saw this as rejection. A better word of commun ication might have been "withhold comment, pending deliberation". This might have had a completely different outcome for World War II if better communication had been used.

OVERCONFIDENCE

Leaders believe they can do it all and can lead to problems and loss during a war.

Example:

In 1914 Kaiser promised Germany that their sons would be back "before the leaves had fallen from the trees." This was not so and because of the overconfidence of the German leadership many German soldiers froze to death because they did not have winter clothing as the leadership did not think the war would last this long.

WIISHFUL THINKING

A leader thinks that someone or something will help them win the war or that even a miracle will happen.

Example:

The involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War. They believed that they were going against a small country and would win this conflict quickly. The United States was wishfully thinking when they entered this conflict that lasted over twenty years.

NEGATIVE, BUT SOMETIMES ACCURATE, PERCEPTIONS

It is up to a good leader to recognize that some leaders are only trying to start a war.

Example:

Barash and Webel explain this as "to seek pece and harmony or to strive for mutual understanding and confidence building may not necessarily imply that one is naive or duped by the other side. But similarly, to be distrustful or to recognize danger or enmity is not necessarily to misperceive an adversary." (p187)

REFERENCES

Barash, D., and Webel, C., (2009), Peace and Conflict Studies, 2nd ed., Thousand Oaks, Ca., Sage Publications, Inc.

Flash Machine, (2017), Decisions for War, retrieved from https://www.flashcardmachine.com/my-flashcards/advanced-editor.cgi