Comparative Study Of Foreign Policy Decision Making Model

The study for Foreign policy decision-making is one of the most heated fields in Science of International Politics. Scholars spend a great deal of time and energy on detecting the process of foreign policy decision-making, seeking the factors affecting the result of decision-making, designing and applying the foreign policy decision-making models. Three different foreign policy decision making models including Rational Actor model, Organizational Progress Model and Governmental Politics Model were introduced in Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis written by Graham T. Allison in 1971 and had huge influence upon subsequent study. The study to U.S. foreign policy with respect to Taiwan from 1949 to June of 1950 is a hot topic in academia. The process of decision making during that period was characterized with complication, reversal, change, conflict and coordination. Various actors such as State of Department, Secretary of Defense, Chiefs of JCS, MacArthur (SCAP) and China Bloc in Congress participated or involved in the process of this decision-making. A great many solutions including support Taiwan Independence Movement, large scale economic assistance, multilateral intervention, UN trusteeship, fostering proctor, hand off and strait neutralization were devised, examined, selected and abandoned. President Nixon visiting China in 1972 marked the end of cold war in East Asian, but the situation in East Asian which was formed by this decision as well as Korea War remains is unchanged. This essay makes an attempt to make a comparative study for the U.S decision-making towards Taiwan from 1949 to June of 1950 by using the Rational Actor Model and Governmental Politics Model argued in Essence of Decision by Allison. I try my best to make comparative study through different perspective such as single actor and various actors, static and dynamic, National interest, organizational interest and personal interest. Several purposes was pursued in this essay: firstly, explore the U.S. foreign policy decision-making regime; Secondly, detect how the national interest, organizational interest, internal interest and personal interest affect the process of decision-making with respect to Taiwan, which may be helpful to relevant Decision-making Department with respect to Taiwan in China government. Finally, try to do my own contribution for the decision-making model study.