The Past, Present, and Future of Behavioral IR

Originally developed by applying models from cognitive psychology to the study of foreign policy decision making, the field of behavioral IR is undergoing important transformations. Building on a broader range of models, methods, and data from the fields of neuroscience, biology, and genetics, behav...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International organization 2021-01, Vol.75 (1), p.147-177
Main Authors: Davis, James W., McDermott, Rose
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambiguity
Behavior
Behavioral economics
Biology
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive psychology
Cold War
Decision making
Emotions
Epigenetics
Foreign policy
Genetics
Inheritance
Inheritance and succession
International relations
Methodological problems
Policy analysis
Political behavior
Political leadership
Political psychology
Psychology
Rational choice
Rationality
Research methodology
Review Essay
Social environment
Theorists
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Summary:Originally developed by applying models from cognitive psychology to the study of foreign policy decision making, the field of behavioral IR is undergoing important transformations. Building on a broader range of models, methods, and data from the fields of neuroscience, biology, and genetics, behavioral IR has moved beyond the staid debate between rational choice and psychology and instead investigates the plethora of mechanisms selected by evolution for solving adaptive problems. This opens new opportunities for collaboration between scholars informed by rational choice and behavioral insights. Examining the interactions between the individual's genetic inheritance, social environment, and downstream behavior of individuals and groups, the emerging field of behavioral epigenetics offers novel insights into the methodological problem of aggregation that has confounded efforts to apply behavioral findings to IR. In the first instance empirical, behavioral IR raises numerous normative and philosophical questions best answered in dialogue with political and legal theorists.
ISSN:0020-8183
1531-5088
DOI:10.1017/S0020818320000272