War on the Ballot: How the Election Cycle Shapes Presidential Decision-Making in War

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Andrew Payne

War on the Ballot

How the Election Cycle Shapes Presidential Decision-Making in War

Andrew Payne

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English

Columbia University Press
18 July 2023

Elections & referenda; Central government policies; Political campaigning & advertising; Warfare & defence

The president of the United States is at once holder of the highest elected office and commander in chief of the armed forces. How do upcoming elections influence presidents' behavior during wartime? How do presidents balance perceptions of the national interest with personal political interests?

War on the Ballot examines how electoral politics shaped presidential decisions on military and diplomatic strategy during the wars in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. Drawing on a wealth of declassified documents and interviews with senior officials and military officers, Andrew Payne reveals the surprisingly large role played by political considerations during conflicts. He demonstrates how the exigencies of the electoral cycle drove leaders to miss opportunities to limit the human and financial costs of each war, gain strategic advantage, or sue for peace, sometimes making critical decisions with striking disregard for the consequences on the ground. Payne emphasizes the importance of electoral pressures throughout the full course of a conflict, not just around the initial decision to intervene. He shows how electoral constraints operate across different phases of the political calendar, going beyond the period immediately preceding a presidential election.

Offering a systematic analysis of the relationship between electoral politics and wartime decision-making, this book raises crucial questions about democratic accountability in foreign policy.

By: Andrew Payne
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9780231209656
ISBN 10: 0231209657
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 18 July 2023
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Presidents, Politics, and War 2. Korea: Truman, Eisenhower, and America’s First Limited War 3. Vietnam: Lyndon Johnson and the “Americanization” of the War 4. Vietnam: Richard Nixon and the “Vietnamization” of the War 5. Iraq: George W. Bush and the Decision to Double Down 6. Iraq: Barack Obama and the Endgame Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

Andrew Payne is a departmental lecturer in international relations at the University of Oxford, where he was previously the Hedley Bull Research Fellow in International Relations and a William Golding Junior Research Fellow at Brasenose College. He serves on the board of Chatham House in London.

Reviews for War on the Ballot: How the Election Cycle Shapes Presidential Decision-Making in War

Payne effectively demonstrates that domestic electoral politics does indeed affect presidential decisions, often decisively. Payne presents the argument in such a systematic and persuasive way that it will be very difficult to read his book and still see the recent American wars in the same light. -- Thomas Alan Schwartz, author of <i>Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography</i>