US Foreign Pol Iran Hostage Crisis: 75 (Cambridge Studies in International Relations, Series Number 75) - Softcover

Houghton

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521805090 ISBN 13: 9780521805094

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2008

Synopsis

Why did a handful of Iranian students seize the American embassy in Tehran in November 1979? Why did most members of the US government initially believe that the incident would be over quickly? Why did the Carter administration then decide to launch a rescue mission, and why did it fail so spectacularly? US Foreign Policy and the Iran Hostage Crisis examines these puzzles and others, using an analogical reasoning approach to decision-making, a theoretical perspective which highlights the role played by historical analogies in the genesis of foreign policy decisions. Using interviews with key decision-makers on both sides, Houghton provides an analysis of one of the United States' greatest foreign policy disasters, the events of which continue to poison relations between the two states. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of foreign policy analysis and international relations.

About this title

Review

"Houghton has produced an excellent, in-depth study of the Iranian hostage crisis, making outstanding use of new material about policy/decision makers' perceptions...A superb book." CHOICE

"...the book provides a clear account of the analogical reasoning model and uses available sources well to provide an interesting description of the deliberations in the Carter administration surrounding the Iranian hostage crisis." Political Science Quarterly

"Well-organized and well-written, Houghton provides a clear and persuasive understanding of the Iran hostage crisis and the important role of cognitive-analogical reasoning." International Politics

"...Houghton has written an intersting and thought-provoking book on an important subject that raises a number of compelling questions for future research." American Political Science Review

Book Description

Why did Iranian students seize the American embassy in Tehran in 1979? Why did the Carter administration launch a rescue mission, and why did it fail so spectacularly? Using interviews with key decision-makers on both sides, this book provides an analysis of a great foreign policy disaster.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0521805090
• ISBN 13: 9780521805094
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272