" The book traces traditional and emerging theories of decision-making by first explaining the components of each model and then analyzing its practical application through three case studies. "-- Provided by publisher.

Rational actor model -- Example 1:Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan, 1945 -- Example 2: Reagan's decision to bomb Libya, 1986 -- Example 3: Bush's decision to halt operation Desert Storm, 1991 -- Utility of the rational actor model -- Prospect theory -- Example 1: Washington's decision to attack Trenton, 1776 -- Example 2: Meade's decision not to pursue Lee after gettysburg, 1863 -- Example 3: Clinton's decision to withdraw from Somalia, 1993 -- Utility of the prospect theory -- Poliheuristic theory -- Example 1:Eisenhower's decision not to intervene in Hungary, 1956 -- Example 2: Kennedy's authorization of the bay of pigs, 1961 -- Example 3: Johnson's decision to de-escalate US involvement in Vietnam, 1968 -- Utility of the pluralistic theory -- Bureaucratic model -- Example 1: The Confederate departmental system's impact on the Vicksburg campaign, 1862-1863 -- Example 2: The Army-Air Force helicopter rivalry, 1950s-1960s -- Example 3: The Department of State and the Department of Defense and the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in Beirut, 1982 -- Utility of the bureaucratic model -- Organizational process model -- Example 1: Strategic formulation in the Vietnam War, 1960s-1970s -- Example 2: decision to abort the iranian hostage rescue mission, 1980 -- Example 3: the federalization of the California Army National Guard during the Los Angeles Riot, 1992 -- Utility of the organizational process model -- The small group model -- Example 1: The blockade board in the Civil War, 1861 -- Example 2: The Executive Committee during Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 -- Example 3: The Restricted Interagency Group in developing a strategy toward Nicaragua, 1980s -- Utility of the small group model -- Elite theory -- Example 1: the influence of the Congressional Black Caucus in the decision to intervene in Haiti, 1993 and 1994 -- Example 2: The role of the media in the decision to intervene in Somalia, 1992 -- Example 3: The agenda of Secretary of State Madeline Albright in the decision to intervene in Kosovo, 1999 -- Utility of the elite theory -- Pluralism -- Example 1: Conscription in the Confederate Army, 1861-1864 -- Example 2: the reflagging of Kuwaiti tankers in the midst of the Iran-Iraq War, 1987-1988 -- Example 3:Tthe Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia, 1995 -- Utility of the pluralist model -- Epilogue.