Event Detail

Lecture I (What is a Decision?) opens with the questions posed by the theoretical literature around decision-making, from rational choice theory, game theory and decision theory to studies that focus on cognitive bias, the impact of neuroscience and the appraisal of emotional factors in ostensibly rational decision-making. It addresses various questions in turn: How do decisions differ from choices? When is a decision political? Are all political decisions fundamentally alike or should we differentiate by type? How do constitutional, legal, cultural and social frameworks shape processes of decision-making and their place within government? The lecture closes with reflections on the special case of decisions for (or against) and in war from Thucydides to Clausewitz.