Book contents
- Political Self-Deception
- Political Self-Deception
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I The Philosophy of Self-Deception
- Part II Self-Deception in Politics
- Chapter 3 The Self-Deception of Political Leaders, Officials, and Governments
- Chapter 4 Kennedy and Cuba
- Chapter 5 Johnson and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
- Chapter 6 Bush and the Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Conclusion
- References
- Index
Conclusion
from Part II - Self-Deception in Politics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 August 2018
Book contents
- Political Self-Deception
- Political Self-Deception
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I The Philosophy of Self-Deception
- Part II Self-Deception in Politics
- Chapter 3 The Self-Deception of Political Leaders, Officials, and Governments
- Chapter 4 Kennedy and Cuba
- Chapter 5 Johnson and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
- Chapter 6 Bush and the Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Conclusion
- References
- Index
Summary
The conclusions summarize the arguments of the two parts, and then point out the following: (1) SD can be singled out distinctively in the complex and blurred reality of international affairs, dint to the three minimal necessary conditions outlined in the first part of the book (contextual, cognitive, and motivational); (2) The context in which SD takes place is always imbued of ideology, which provided the fixed convictions from which political motivations are derived; and (3) The process of SD is usually conditional to low costs of inaccuracy, and yet in political decision making the costs of inaccuracy are actually high. The apparent contradiction is explained by the fact that they are discounted due to different factors. Finally, the issue of prophylactic measures is taken up.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Political Self-Deception , pp. 234 - 246Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2018