Cybernetic Theory of Decision

John D. Steinbruner is Professor of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, where he directs the Center for International and Security Studies. He is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His many books include, most recently, "Principles of Global Security".

"A stimulating and challenging work, almost two books in one, which applies cybernetics and psychology to the politics of the multilateral nuclear force and the nuclear sharing issue in the period of 1956-1964. Steinbruner's important and creative study successfully adds a new dimension to our understanding of decision-making."--Foreign Affairs "Likely to prove one of those few path-breaking efforts of conceptual synthesis which will be influencing our thinking about government and policy-making for many years to come."--I. M. Destler, Arms Control Today

• List of Figures ix Preface to the Second Paperback Edition xi Preface xxi Chapter 1: Introduction 3 PART ONE: PARADIGMS OF THE DECISION PROCESS Chapter 2: The Analytic Paradigm 25 Chapter 3: The Cybernetic Paradigm 47 Chapter 4: Cognitive Processes 88 Chapter 5: Politics and Policy 140 PART TWO: THE POLITICS OF NUCLEAR SHARING 1956-1964 Chapter 6: Strains in the Alliance: Genesis of a Two-Value Problem 153 Chapter 7: The Development of Nuclear Sharing Proposals: 1956-1960 173 Chapter 8: The Rise of the Multilateral Force: 1961-1963 199 Chapter 9: Asendancy and Sudden Death of the Multilateral Force: 1963-1964 327 Chapter 10: Epilogue: Conclusions and Implications 327 Bibliography 343 Index 361