Prisoners of Their Premises: How Unexamined Assumptions Lead to War and Other Policy Debacles - Paperback

by George C. Edwards III (Author)

A timely look at the real costs of leaders not examining their assumptions.

Why do accomplished and stable leaders frequently make calamitous decisions with devastating consequences for their countries-and other nations? We debate debacles such as the American involvement in Vietnam, seeking to understand why leaders pursued disastrous policies. In Prisoners of Their Premises, George C. Edwards III argues that the failure of leaders to examine their premises-the assumptions they make about the world and situation they are dealing with-cause them to ignore real problems or pursue policies that, in costly ways, deal with problems that are different than they think or simply don't exist. Edwards looks at the role of premises in identifying (or ignoring) a problem in a series of case studies that range from strategic decisions in World War I and the Korean War to the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. Too often, unexamined premises color initial decisions to pursue a policy and shape the strategies leaders employ to achieve their goals, with grave consequences for their countries, organizations, and potentially the world. Timely and important, Prisoners of Their Premises demonstrates the real costs leaders incur by failing to question their assumptions.

Author Biography

George C. Edwards III is the University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies Emeritus at Texas A&M University. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Oxford. A leading scholar of the presidency, he has written or edited twenty-seven books on American politics. He is also editor of Presidential Studies Quarterly and general editor of the Oxford Handbook of American Politics series. His most recent books are Predicting the Presidency: The Path to Successful Leadership, Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America, and Changing Their Minds? Donald Trump and Presidential Leadership.