The rational actor model requires solid information if it is to work as designed (Allison 1971). Without reliable information, it is difficult to compare alternatives, conduct a cost-benefit analysis, and determine utilities.
However, foreign policy is rife with incomplete and inaccurate information. Producer-consumer problems abound in foreign policy. Producers are the information gatherers in the field. For example, intelligence agencies have field operatives who send intelligence back to headquarters where consumers use it to inform decisions. The process is prone to problems. For example, producers may generate biased information. One motivation for this behavior is that producers want their information to be noticed.
The Vietnam War was characterized by well-known information problems. President Johnson was repeatedly told that the war was going according to plan and that incremental increases in troops could lead to victory. The president was being given biased information that was not entirely accurate. This made it difficult for the president to compare alternatives and utilities realistically. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin received inaccurate information about troop level and deployment in Lebanon in 1982. The information he received led to decisions he would later regret. This does not equate, of course, to being irrational, but it does mean the conditions required to make an optimal decision were not met.
The rational actor model requires solid information if it is to work as designed (Allison 1971). Without reliable information, it is difficult to compare alternatives, conduct a cost-benefit analysis, and determine utilities. However, foreign policy is rife with incomplete and inaccurate information. Producer-consumer problems abound in foreign policy. Producers are the information gatherers in the field. For example, intelligence agencies have field operatives who send intelligence back to headquarters where consumers use it to inform decisions. The process is prone to problems. For example, producers may generate biased information. One motivation for this behavior is that producers want their information to be noticed.The Vietnam War was characterized by well-known information problems. President Johnson was repeatedly told that the war was going according to plan and that incremental increases in troops could lead to victory. The president was being given biased information that was not entirely accurate. This made it difficult for the president to compare alternatives and utilities realistically. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin received inaccurate information about troop level and deployment in Lebanon in 1982. The information he received led to decisions he would later regret. This does not equate, of course, to being irrational, but it does mean the conditions required to make an optimal decision were not met.
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