| ID | 087708 |
| Title Proper | Pragmatic response to an unexpected constraint |
| Other Title Information | problem representation in a complex humanitarian emergency |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Knecht, Thomas |
| Publication | 2009. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This paper elaborates a model of problem representation first presented by Billings and Hermann (1998). The foreign policy process begins when decision-makers specify policy goals and identify relevant constraints in response to a perceived problem. Although this initial problem representation often sets the course for subsequent policy, unanticipated constraints can arise that catch decision makers off-guard. Finding themselves in a context they did not anticipate to be in, decision makers may choose to alter their representation of the problem and/or change the course of policy. Billings and Hermann offer one piece of this puzzle by examining how decision makers re-represent problems; this paper provides the second piece by assessing how policies, not representations, change in response to new constraints. A case study of the U.S. response to the Ethiopian famine in the mid 1980s demonstrates that policy does not always follow problem representation. |
| `In' analytical Note | Foreign Policy Analysis Vol. 5, No.2; Apr 2009: p135-168 |
| Journal Source | Foreign Policy Analysis Vol. 5, No.2; Apr 2009: p135-168 |
| Key Words | Foreign Policy ; United States ; Ethopian Famine |