Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Narrativized Strategic Choice (Peace and Security in the 21st Century)

Product Description In February 2019, Donald Trump announced the United States withdrew from the landmark Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia sparking worldwide concerns over the specter of a new nuclear arms race. The rational-actor and game-theoretic models dominating international relations literature failed to predict or explain this strategic choice. Rationalist, normative, and materialist models of strategic choice saturate the study of international relations. Scholars continue to expose the shortfalls in these approaches in explaining or predicting outcomes of strategic interactions. In this timely study, John P. DeRosa advances a new model of strategic choice through a narrative lens. This narrative turn reframes the logic to emphasize the propositions of motives, perceptions, preferences, and the reflexive interaction of strategic choices. Case studies of American and Russian nuclear arms control treaties from the negotiations of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 1987 to the crisis of the US withdrawal from the INF Treaty in 2019 support building a theory of "narrativized" strategic choice. Review This book covers an interesting approach of studying important subjects from smaller frames. It is a unique work that sheds new lights into narrativized strategic choice as the title suggests, but there is much more to it. A well-designed methodology always provides fascinating results. These results are simply, amazing.--Abit Hoxha, Researcher, Institute of Nordic and Media Studies, University of Agder, NorwayDeRosa makes a convincing argument for using narrative logic as a tool for understanding political outcomes. He synthesizes a range of scholarly literature to build a theoretical framework that captures the complexity of strategic interactions in ways others cannot. A brilliant piece of scholarship in theory, methodology and evidence, Narrativized Strategic Choice adds needed structure to this evolving field.--Jeffrey Kubiak, Professor of Practice, School of Politics and Global Studies, Arizona State UniversityNarrativized Strategic Choice provides an intense examination of strategic choice in warfare. DeRosa broadens the understanding of strategic choice by carefully analyzing seven cases within the nuclear arms control realm to demonstrate that narratives better explain strategic choice compared to traditional models. Well structured, researched, and documented, this book is highly recommended for the strategist community.--Kevin D. Stringer, Lecturer in Strategy and Leadership, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Northwestern Switzerland About the Author John DeRosa continues to serve over twenty years as a soldier, officer, and civilian in the U.S. Department of Defense. Concurrently, he is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Government and Politics Department of the University of Maryland University College and a Fellow with the Center on Global Interests. He received a MSc in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University, a M.A in National Security Studies, and a B.A. in Economics from California State University, San Bernardino. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at George Mason University's School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. https://twitter.com/jpderosa, 2,400 followers.