Buying pre-order items
Ebooks and Audiobook
You will receive an email with a download link for the ebook or audiobook on the publication date.
Payment
You will not be charged for pre-ordered books until they are available to be shipped. Pre-ordered ebooks will not be charged for until they are available for download.
Amending or cancelling your order
For orders that have not been shipped you can usually make changes to pre-orders up to 72 hours before the publishing date.
Payment for this pre-order will be taken when the item becomes available
Description
Why Leaders and Nations Choose War: Emotions and Decision Making analyses the decisive role that emotions play in one of the most consequential arenas of human life-war. Challenging the assumption that leaders act purely on rational calculation, this demonstrates how fear, wishful thinking, and regret have repeatedly shaped fateful decisions in modern history. Drawing on psychological theory, international relations, and historical case studies, Gadi Heimann explains how emotions can both enhance and distort judgment, tipping the scales between peace and conflict.
Through vivid accounts of twentieth-century wars, Why Leaders and Nations Choose War reveals how fear drove Germany into World War I and Israel into preemptive strikes throughout its history; how wishful thinking fueled Germany's submarine offensive and Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor; and how regret shaped U.S. isolationism and later the Cold War. By weaving together theory and narrative, the book provides a new lens for understanding the complex interplay between emotion and statecraft.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part One: Fear
Chapter 1: Fear, Security, and War as Tragedy
Chapter 2: The “German Complex” and World War I
Chapter 3: The Road to the Six-Day War
Part Two: Wishful Thinking
Chapter 4: Optimism and the Rational Actor Model
Chapter 5: Germany Opts for a Submarine Offensive
Chapter 6: Japan's Road to Pearl Harbor
Part Three: Regret
Chapter 7: Regret, Historical Lessons, and National Trauma
Chapter 8: The Arms Manufacturers' Conspiracy and American Isolationism
Chapter 9: The Specter of Munich and the Cold War
Epilogue
About the Author
Product details
| Published | 11 Jun 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 256 |
| ISBN | 9781978759466 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 2 b/w tables |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Reviews
ONLINE RESOURCES
Bloomsbury Collections
This book is available on Bloomsbury Collections where your library has access.
Related Titles
