Leaders at War: How Presidents Shape Military Interventions

Authors

Frederick H. Black Jr.

Abstract

In today’s political environment, military intervention is frequently debated. These discussions often bring to light interesting points of agreement and per- haps surprising instances of disagree- ment. In the end, it is with the president that the final decision rests. Elizabeth Saunders explores the rationales that U.S. presidents have used for decid- ing whether or not to initiate military interventions. Dr. Saunders, a graduate of Yale, now teaching at George Wash- ington University, advances a thesis that the model of intervention depends mainly on a president’s formative ways of thinking about foreign policy. While it may seem that these views would fol- low party lines, Saunders shows that this is not necessarily true. On one hand, the internal approach focuses on how the foreign state is organized and follows the transformative model.

Recommended Citation

Black, Frederick H. Jr. (2012) "Leaders at War: How Presidents Shape Military Interventions," Naval War College Review: Vol. 65: No. 3, Article 12.
Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol65/iss3/12