Was the Decision to Invade Iraq and the Failure of Occupation Planning a Case of Groupthink?

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorScheeringa, Danielen
dc.contributor.committeechairHult, Karen M.en
dc.contributor.committeecochairPourchot, Georgeta V.en
dc.contributor.committeememberWalcott, Charles E.en
dc.contributor.departmentPolitical Scienceen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:42:12Zen
dc.date.adate2010-08-27en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:42:12Zen
dc.date.issued2010-07-21en
dc.date.rdate2010-08-27en
dc.date.sdate2010-07-29en
dc.description.abstractThis thesis examines the decision to invade Iraq and the failed planning for the occupation of Iraq. Since Janis introduced groupthink in 1972, the groupthink perspective has been used to explain foreign policy disasters such as the failure to anticipate the Pearl Harbor attack and the Bay of Pigs. However, the groupthink perspective is not universally useful for explaining foreign policy mishaps. While some have attributed the Iraq war to groupthink, the groupthink perspective has not been systematically applied to these events. This thesis will examine Janis's original groupthink theory, and subsequent research that tested the effectiveness of the groupthink perspective. It will apply the groupthink perspective to the events leading up to the invasion of Iraq. It will also examine the failed planning for the occupation of Iraq. The application of the groupthink perspective to both the invasion decision and occupation planning suggests that groupthink was not the primary cause of either event. The thesis will conclude by describing alternative explanations for the decision to invade Iraq, such as ideological agenda setting, and other cognitive errors besides groupthink.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Artsen
dc.identifier.otheretd-07292010-145020en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-07292010-145020/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/34245en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartScheeringa_DJ_T-2010.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subject2003en
dc.subjectBushen
dc.subjectNational Security Councilen
dc.subjectOccupationen
dc.subjectIraq Waren
dc.titleWas the Decision to Invade Iraq and the Failure of Occupation Planning a Case of Groupthink?en
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplinePolitical Scienceen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Scheeringa_DJ_T-2010.pdf
Size:
978.6 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Masters Theses