New Releases by Charles Todd

Charles Todd is the author of Tales (2015), Balm for the Weary and the Wounded (2015), A Fine Summer's Day (2015), The Ian Rutledge Starter (2014), An Unwilling Accomplice LP (2014).

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Tales

release date: Jul 21, 2015
Tales
Now published together for the first time: Charles Todd''s absorbing short stories—"The Kidnapping," "The Girl on the Beach," "Cold Comfort," and "The Maharani''s Pearls"—featuring everyone''s favorite Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge and intrepid battlefield nurse Bess Crawford. These vibrant tales transport readers from the home front in Great Britain where ominous clouds of war will soon lead to the trenches of France, to the bloody front lines where Lieutenant Rutledge must risk his life to save his men. And finally to the exotic, dangerous India of Bess Crawford''s youth. Together they create a fascinating glimpse into the extraordinary backgrounds of two of mystery''s most popular characters.

Balm for the Weary and the Wounded

release date: Apr 19, 2015
Balm for the Weary and the Wounded
Hardcover reprint of the original 1864 edition - beautifully bound in brown cloth covers featuring titles stamped in gold, 8vo - 6x9. No adjustments have been made to the original text, giving readers the full antiquarian experience. For quality purposes, all text and images are printed as black and white. This item is printed on demand. Book Information: Quintard, C. T. (Charles Todd). Balm For The Weary And The Wounded. Indiana: Repressed Publishing LLC, 2012. Original Publishing: Quintard, C. T. (Charles Todd). Balm For The Weary And The Wounded, . Columbia S.C.: Evans & Cogswell, Printers, 1864. Subject: Consolation

A Fine Summer's Day

release date: Jan 06, 2015
A Fine Summer's Day
New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd takes readers into Scotland Yard detective Ian Rutledge’s past—to his perplexing final case before the outbreak of World War I. On a fine summer’s day in June, 1914, Ian Rutledge pays little notice to the assassination of an archduke in Sarajevo. An Inspector at Scotland Yard, he is planning to propose to the woman whom he deeply loves, despite intimations from friends and family that she may not be the wisest choice. To the north on this warm and gentle day, another man in love—a Scottish Highlander—shows his own dear girl the house he will build for her in September. While back in England, a son awaits the undertaker in the wake of his widowed mother’s death. This death will set off a series of murders across England, seemingly unconnected, that Rutledge will race to solve in the weeks before the fateful declaration in August that will forever transform his world. As the clouds of war gather on the horizon, all of Britain wonders and waits. With every moment at stake, Rutledge sets out to right a wrong—an odyssey that will eventually force him to choose between the Yard and his country, between love and duty, and between honor and truth.

The Ian Rutledge Starter

release date: Sep 16, 2014
The Ian Rutledge Starter
Get four mystery novels from New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd''s Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries series in one e-book, including: A Test of Wills, A Long Shadow, A False Mirror, and A Pale Horse. Set in England in 1919, each story features war-damaged Scotland Yard inspector Ian Rutledge in mysteries brilliantly evoking post-World War I Great Britain and introduces readers to one of crime fiction''s most compelling protagonists. A Test of Wills—It is 1919, and the War to End All Wars has been won. But for Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge, recently returned from the battlefields of France, there is no peace. Suffering from shell shock, Rutledge plunges into his work to save his sanity. But his first assignment is a case certain to spell both personal and professional disaster. A Long Shadow—A story that immerses readers in the sights and sounds of post-war Great Britain, as the damaged policeman pursues answers to a constable’s slaying and the three-year-old mystery of a young girl’s disappearance in a tiny Northamptonshire village. A False Mirror—A love triangle turned deadly sends Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge to a small town simmering with secrets. A Pale Horse—A body found in the ruins of an ancient abbey sends Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge off to find a killer, in another superb atmospheric mystery by Charles Todd.

An Unwilling Accomplice LP

release date: Aug 12, 2014
An Unwilling Accomplice LP
World War I battlefield nurse Bess Crawford''s career and life are in jeopardy when a murder is committed on her watch. Arriving in London on leave, Bess Crawford receives an unusual summons from the War Office. She''s to accompany a wounded soldier from a northern clinic, Sergeant Jason Wilkins, to Buckingham Palace. Confined to a wheelchair, the soldier will be in her care for barely a day. But the morning after the ceremony, Wilkins is missing. Bess is blamed for losing the war hero. More disturbing news complicates her difficult situation! The Army considers Wilkins a deserter, and Scotland Yard questions her when Wilkins is suspected of killing a man. If Bess is to clear her name, she must prove that she was never his accomplice. But the sergeant has disappeared yet again. Carefully questioning unhelpful villagers, Bess and her friend, Simon, follow a trail of clues across England. But will uncovering the truth and saving her honor put more innocent people in jeopardy?

The Maharani's Pearls

release date: Jul 01, 2014
The Maharani's Pearls
Living with her family in India, young Bess Crawford''s curiosity about this exotic country sometimes leads her into trouble. One day she slips away from the cantonment to visit the famous seer in a nearby village. Before this woman can finish telling her fortune, Bess is summoned back for an afternoon tea with the Maharani, a close friend of her parents''. The seer''s last words are a warning about forthcoming danger that Bess takes as the usual patter. But this visit by the Maharani has ominous overtones that mark it as more than a social call. Her husband has political enemies, and she has come to ask Bess''s father, Major Crawford, for help. As the Maharani is leaving, Bess notices that there is something amiss with the royal entourage. Major Crawford must set out after them—but will he be in time? And what will happen to Bess, and the household left behind, when a vicious assassin circles back to take hostages? Here is an extraordinary glimpse into the childhood of the Bess Crawford we know from her service in the Great War.

Hunting Shadows

release date: Jan 21, 2014
Hunting Shadows
A dangerous case with ties leading back to the battlefields of World War I dredges up dark memories for Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge in Hunting Shadows, a gripping and atmospheric historical mystery set in 1920s England, from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd. A society wedding at Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire becomes a crime scene when a man is murdered. After another body is found, the baffled local constabulary turns to Scotland Yard. Though the second crime had a witness, her description of the killer is so strange its unbelievable. Despite his experience, Inspector Ian Rutledge has few answers of his own. The victims are so different that there is no rhyme or reason to their deaths. Nothing logically seems to connect them—except the killer. As the investigation widens, a clear suspect emerges. But for Rutledge, the facts still don’t add up, leaving him to question his own judgment. In going over the details of the case, Rutledge is reminded of a dark episode he witnessed in the war. While the memory could lead him to the truth, it also raises a prickly dilemma. To stop a murderer, will the ethical detective choose to follow the letter—or the spirit—of the law?

Cold Comfort

release date: Nov 19, 2013
Cold Comfort
A brand-new Ian Rutledge e-original novella from Charles Todd, including a special excerpt from the next Rutledge novel, Hunting Shadows, available this January. It’s 1915, and the Great War is barely six months old. Lieutenant Ian Rutledge has left behind his career at Scotland Yard and is now serving in France. He’s temporarily with the sappers—men digging underground tunnels toward the German lines to set off explosions under the enemy trenches. In his sector, Rutledge and his men set their charges and get out of the tunnel as fast as possible. But the charges don’t go off. It’s madness to go back down and find out why, but Rutledge and Private Williams volunteer. They barely make it back before the tunnel blows up. Rutledge suspects that two Welsh miners cut the fuse too long, even though they deny it. Then Williams confides to Rutledge that these same men, half brothers Taffy Jones and Aaron Lloyd, have tried before this to kill him. And they’re determined enough to risk other men’s lives as well. Rutledge discovers in the midst of a raging battle that murder has made its way to France, and he must find a way to prove it.

A Question of Honor

release date: Aug 27, 2013
A Question of Honor
In the latest mystery from New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd, World War I nurse and amateur sleuth Bess Crawford investigates an old murder that occurred during her childhood in India, and begins a search for the truth that will transform her and leave her pondering a troubling question: How can facts lie? In 1908, when a young Bess Crawford lived in India, an unforgettable incident darkened the otherwise happy time. Her father''s regiment discovered it had a murderer in its ranks, an officer who killed five people yet was never brought to trial. A decade later, tending to the wounded on the battlefields of France during World War I, Bess learns from a dying man that the alleged murderer, Lieutenant Wade, is alive and serving at the Front. According to reliable reports, he''d died years before, so how did Wade escape India? What drove a good man to murder in cold blood? Bess uses her leave to investigate. But when she stumbles on the horrific truth, she is shaken to her very core. The facts reveal a reality that could have been her own fate.

Narzeczona oficera

release date: Jun 07, 2013
Narzeczona oficera
"Rok 1914. Młodziutka Lady Elspeth Douglas właśnie zaręczyła się z przystojnym bratem przyjaciółki. Szczęście nie trwa jednak długo: wybucha wojna, a Alain zostaje powołany do wojska i wyrusza na front. Odważna dziewczyna nie zamierza jednak czekać na ukochanego z założonymi rękami. Wbrew woli rodziny zostaje sanitariuszką. Na froncie los styka ją z dawnym przyjacielem jej brata, kapitanem Peterem Gillchristem. Kiedy Peter zostaje ranny, Elspeth zaczyna rozumieć, że jej serce zostało rozdarte na dwoje..."

Proof of Guilt

release date: Jan 29, 2013
Proof of Guilt
Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard must contend with two dangerous enemies in New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd''s Proof of Guilt. Can Rutledge solve the apparent murder of a top wine merchant while dealing with interference from his superior, the new Acting Chief Superintendent? Readers of Charles Todd’s Bess Crawford books and London-based Ian Rutledge mysteries will be thrilled with Proof of Guilt, clue by clue.

The Best Mystery & Thriller Books

release date: Dec 18, 2012
The Best Mystery & Thriller Books
New York Times bestselling author and one of the most acclaimed novelists in America today, Laura Lippman, presents The Best Mystery & Thriller eBooks. The perfect download to break in your new device, this free sampler is a curated volume of excerpts from new and upcoming titles from the best Mystery & Thriller authors in the genre. It also includes an excerpt from Laura Lippman''s latest novel And When She Was Good and the three bonus short stories that inspired this novel, as well as some insight into the world of Laura Lippman. The Best Mystery & Thriller eBooks includes: An Introduction from Laura Lippman And excerpts from: Watching the Dark by Peter Robinson Proof of Guilt by Charles Todd The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie The Riptide Ultra-Glide by Tim Dorsey The Carrion Birds by Urban Waite There Was An Old Woman by Hallie Ephron The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman Three Shorts Stories: Scratch a Woman; One True Love; Form 95 by Laura Lippman

The Walnut Tree

release date: Oct 30, 2012
The Walnut Tree
“You’re going to love Todd.” —Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly The critically acclaimed creator of the Inspector Ian Rutledge and battlefield nurse Bess Crawford mystery series, Charles Todd now offers readers a bittersweet love story and romantic mystery that unfolds at Christmas during the dangerous opening days of World War I. The Walnut Tree is an unforgettable story of a woman who puts herself in the line of fire for the sake of wounded soldiers and falls deeply in love with a man who may be forbidden to her. For anyone who has fallen under the spell of Downton Abbey, and for all the fans of the British-set mysteries of Elizabeth George, Anne Perry, Ruth Rendell, Martha Grimes, and Jacqueline Winspear, The Walnut Tree is essential reading.

A Bitter Truth with Bonus Material

release date: May 08, 2012
A Bitter Truth with Bonus Material
For a limited time at a special price of $1.99, enjoy Charles Todd''s third novel in the Bess Crawford series: A Bitter Truth. As a bonus, you get an excerpt from the fourth Bess Crawford novel, An Unmarked Grave, on sale June 5, 2012.Trying to help a woman in distress, World War I nurse and accidental sleuth Bess Crawford learns that no good deed goes unpunished. When battlefield nurse Bess Crawford returns from France for a well-earned Christmas leave, she finds a bruised and shivering woman huddled in the doorway of her London residence. The woman has nowhere to turn, and propelled by a firm sense of duty, Bess takes her in. Once inside Bess''s flat, the woman reveals that a quarrel with her husband erupted into violence, yet she wants to return home—if Bess will go with her to Sussex. Realizing that the woman is suffering from a concussion, Bess gives up a few precious days of leave to travel with her. But she soon discovers that this is a good deed with unforeseeable consequences. What Bess finds at Vixen Hill is a house of mourning. The woman''s family has gathered for a memorial service for the elder son, who died of war wounds. Her husband, home on compassionate leave, is tense, tormented by jealousy and his own guilty conscience. Then, when a troubled houseguest is found dead, Bess herself becomes a prime suspect in the case. This murder will lead her to a dangerous quest in war-torn France, an unexpected ally, and a startling revelation that puts her in jeopardy before a vicious killer can be exposed.

The Confession

release date: Jan 03, 2012
The Confession
“One of the best historical series being written today.” —Washington Post “Todd once and for all establishes the shell-shocked Rutledge as the genre’s most complex and fascinating detective.” —Entertainment Weekly The Confession is historical crime fiction at its finest, continuing Charles Todd’s New York Times bestselling mystery series featuring severely damaged British World War I veteran, and yet still astonishingly efficient Scotland Yard inspector, Ian Rutledge. Todd’s troubled investigator wrestles with a startling and dangerous case that reaches far into the past when a false confession from a man who is not who he claims to be leads to a brutal murder. The Confession is a must-read for every fan of Elizabeth George, Martha Grimes, P.D. James, Ruth Rendell, and Jacqueline Winspear, as post-war London’s best detective finds himself ensnared in a dark and deadly investigation that unearths shocking small town secrets dating back more than a century.

A Bitter Truth

release date: Aug 30, 2011
A Bitter Truth
Trying to help a woman in distress, World War I nurse and accidental sleuth Bess Crawford learns that no good deed goes unpunished When battlefield nurse Bess Crawford returns from France for a well-earned Christmas leave, she finds a bruised and shivering woman huddled in the doorway of her London residence. The woman has nowhere to turn, and propelled by a firm sense of duty, Bess takes her in. Once inside Bess’s flat, the woman reveals that a quarrel with her husband erupted into violence, yet she wants to return home—if Bess will go with her to Sussex. Realizing that the woman is suffering from a concussion, Bess gives up a few precious days of leave to travel with her. But she soon discovers that this is a good deed with unforeseeable consequences. What Bess finds at Vixen Hill is a house of mourning. The woman’s family has gathered for a memorial service for the elder son, who died of war wounds. Her husband, home on compassionate leave, is tense, tormented by jealousy and his own guilty conscience. Then, when a troubled houseguest is found dead, Bess herself becomes a prime suspect in the case. This murder will lead her to a dangerous quest in war-torn France, an unexpected ally, and a startling revelation that puts her in jeopardy before a vicious killer can be exposed.

An Impartial Witness

release date: Aug 16, 2011
An Impartial Witness
In the early summer of 1917, Bess Crawford is charged with escorting a convoy of severely wounded soldiers from the trenches of France to England. Among them is a young pilot, burned beyond recognition, who carries a photograph of his wife pinned to his tunic. But later, in a crowded railway station, Bess sees the same woman bidding a heart-wrenching farewell to a departing officer, clearly not her husband. Back on duty in France, Bess is shocked to discover the wife’s photograph in a newspaper accompanying a plea from Scotland Yard for information about her murder, which took place on the very day Bess witnessed that anguished farewell. Granted leave to speak with the authorities, Bess very quickly finds herself entangled in a case of secrets and deadly betrayal in which another life hangs in the balance, and her search for the truth could expose her to far graver dangers than those she faces on the battlefield.

A Lonely Death

release date: Jan 04, 2011
A Lonely Death
“Todd’s Ian Rutledge mysteries are among the most intelligent and affecting being written these days.” —Washington Post Critics have called Charles Todd’s historical mystery series featuring shell-shocked World War One veteran Inspector Ian Rutledge “remarkable” (New York Times Book Review), “heart-breaking” (Chicago Tribune), “fresh and original” (South Florida Sun-Sentinel). In A Lonely Death, the haunted investigator is back in action, trying to solve the murders of three ex-soldiers in a small English village. A true master of evocative and atmospheric British crime fiction, Charles Todd reaches breathtaking new heights with A Lonely Death—a thrilling tale of the darkness in men’s souls that will have fans of Elizabeth George, Martha Grimes, and Anne Perry cheering.

The Metaphysics of Moral Responsibility

release date: Jan 01, 2011
The Metaphysics of Moral Responsibility
In my dissertation, I evaluate two traditional threats to free will and moral responsibility: the threat posed by causal determinism, and the threat posed by fatalism. In the first part of the dissertation, I argue that moral responsibility is incompatible with determinism. I do so by building on (and, I hope, improving) the so-called manipulation arguments for incompatibilism. Manipulation arguments challenge the compatibilist to distinguish between our actions being deterministically manipulated by other agents and their simply being determined by brute natural chance. I then focus on the threat posed by fatalism . On logical fatalism, from the fact that it was true (say) 1000 years ago that I would write my dissertation, it follows that I could not have done otherwise than write it. And on theological fatalism, from the fact that an infallible God believed 1000 years ago that I would write this dissertation, it follows that I could not have done otherwise than write it. The most promising replies to such arguments ultimately invoke the notion of dependence : it is because we do the things we do that it was true 1000 years ago that we would do these things, or that God then believed we would do these things. The question, however, is what sort of dependence is required, and whether it is plausible to suppose that the various things in the distant past could have depended (in the needed sense) on what we do now . On my account, it turns out that it is fact not plausible that such prior truths (and especially any past divine beliefs) could have depended in the needed sense on what we do. What my results thus suggest is that, if we are to be free and responsible, the future must be open . However, I develop one more or less unknown way of responding to these arguments: that the future is not open, but instead is mutable . Even though I reject this view, I hope to show that it has far more going for it than we have yet realized.

The Kidnapping: An Ian Rutledge Original Short Story with Bonus Content

release date: Dec 14, 2010
The Kidnapping: An Ian Rutledge Original Short Story with Bonus Content
In an original short story by New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd, Scotland Yard inspector Ian Rutledge must put all his detecting skills to use to solve a baffling case. A man and his young daughter were returning home from a dinner party when three men appeared from out of nowhere and grabbed the girl. Rutledge has to act quickly to find the child and bring the surprising culprits to justice. The Kidnapping also includes excerpts from three other Ian Rutledge mysteries: A Lonely Death, The Red Door, and A Pale Horse.

Ian Rutledge: Mysterious Profile #24

release date: Oct 12, 2010

An Impartial Witness LP

release date: Aug 31, 2010
An Impartial Witness LP
World War I nurse Bess Crawford, introduced in A Duty to the Dead, returns in an exciting new mystery in which a murder draws her inexorably into the sights of a cunning killer It is the early summer of 1917. Bess Crawford has returned to England from the trenches of France with a convoy of severely wounded men. One of her patients is a young pilot who has been burned beyond recognition, and who clings to life and the photo of his wife that is pinned to his tunic. While passing through a London train station, Bess notices a woman bidding an emotional farewell to an officer, her grief heart-wrenching. And then Bess realizes that she seems familiar. In fact, she''s the woman in the pilot''s photo, but the man she is seeing off is not her husband. Back on duty in France, Bess discovers a newspaper with a drawing of the woman''s face on the front page. Accompanying the drawing is a plea from Scotland Yard seeking information from anyone who has seen her. For it appears that the woman was murdered on the very day Bess encountered her at the station. Granted leave to speak with Scotland Yard, Bess becomes entangled in the case. Though an arrest is made, she must delve into the depths of her very soul to decide if the police will hang an innocent man or a vicious killer. Exposing the truth is dangerous—and will put her own life on the line.

Search the Dark

release date: Apr 01, 2010
Search the Dark
The introspective hero of Wings of Fire and A Test of Wills (Edgar Award nominee) returns in Search the Dark, a provocative mystery by Charles Todd. Inspector Ian Rutledge, haunted by memories of World War I and the harrowing presence of Hamish, a dead soldier, is "a superb characterization of a man whose wounds have made him a stranger in his own land." (The New York Times Book Review) A dead woman and two missing children bring Inspector Rutledge to the lovely Dorset town of Singleton Magna, where the truth lies buried with the dead. A tormented veteran whose family died in an enemy bombing is the chief suspect. Dubious, Rutledge presses on to find the real killer. And when another body is found in the rich Dorset earth, his quest reaches into the secret lives of villagers and Londoners whose privileged positions and private passions give them every reason to thwart him. Someone is protecting a murderer. And two children are out there, somewhere, in the dark....

A Test of Wills LP

release date: Mar 23, 2010
A Test of Wills LP
It is 1919, and the War to End All Wars has been won. But for Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge, recently returned from the battlefields of France, there is no peace. Suffering from shell shock, he plunges into his work to save his sanity. But his first assignment is a case certain to spell both personal and professional disaster. A popular colonel has been murdered in Warwickshire, and the main suspect is a decorated war hero. No matter what the outcome, Rutledge may not escape with his career intact. And, win or lose, the cost could be even higher: The one witness who could break the case is himself a shell-shock victim. In this war-ravaged man, Rutledge sees his own possible future, should he fail.

The Red Door

release date: Jan 01, 2010
The Red Door
In this riveting novel by a "New York Times"-bestselling author, Inspector Ian Rutledge must solve a series of mysteries: Who is the woman who dies behind the Red Door? And what does she see before she dies?

A False Mirror

release date: Oct 13, 2009
A False Mirror
“Full of suspense, surprises, and sympathetic characters.” —Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel “No mystery series I can think of captures the sadness and loss that swept over England after World War I with the heartbreaking force of Charles Todd’s books about Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge.” —Chicago Tribune The remarkable Charles Todd has created one of the most unforgettable characters in mystery and crime fiction: Inspector Ian Rutledge, shell-shocked veteran of “the Great War.” A False Mirror is one of Todd’s most powerful novels, plunging his tormented protagonist into the center of a brutal crime that painfully echoes events in Rutledge’s own past. Poignant, evocative, and continually surprising, A False Mirror is further proof that Charles Todd is well deserving of the critical acclaim the Rutledge novels have earned; a New York Times bestselling author who belongs among the acknowledged masters of the genre, including P. D. James, Elizabeth George, Ruth Rendell, and Jacqueline Winspear.

A Duty to the Dead LP

release date: Aug 25, 2009
A Duty to the Dead LP
The daughter of a distinguished soldier, Bess Crawford follows in his footsteps and signs up to go overseas as a nurse during the Great War, helping to deal with the many wounded. There, serving on a hospital ship, she makes a promise to a dying young lieutenant to take a message to his brother, Jonathan Graham: "Tell Jonathan that I lied. I did it for Mother′s sake. But it has to be set right." Later, when her ship is sunk by a mine and she′s sidelined by a broken arm, Bess returns home to England, determined to fulfill her promise. It′s not so easy, however. She travels to the village in Kent where the Grahams live and passes on to Jonathan his brother′s plea. Oddly, neither Jonathan, his mother, nor his younger brother admit to knowing what the message means. Then Bess learns that there′s another brother, incarcerated in a lunatic asylum since the age of 14 when he was accused of brutally murdering a housemaid. Bess rightly guesses that the dying soldier′s last words had something to do with the fourth brother. Because the family seems unwilling to do anything, she decides that she will investigate. It′s her own duty to the dead.

A Matter of Justice

release date: Jan 01, 2009
A Matter of Justice
The superb new entry in the Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery series the "New York Times Book Review" hails as outstanding and the "Washington Post" proclaims as one of the best being written today.

Flügel aus Feuer

release date: Jan 01, 2009
Flügel aus Feuer
England in den 20er-Jahren: Auf dem Anwesen der Trevelyans kommt es zu 3 Todesfällen. Haben sich die berühmten Lyriker und ihr Halbbruder das Leben genommen, ist ein weiterer Bruder wirklich selbstverschuldet die Treppe hinunter in den Tod gestürzt? Inspektor Rutledge von Scotland Yard hat einige Rätsel zu lösen und im Laufe seiner Ermittlungen stösst er auf jede Menge mysteriöse Todesfälle in der berühmten Familie. - Klassischer englischer Kriminalroman.

Politically Rational Foreign Policy Decision-making

release date: Jan 01, 2006
Politically Rational Foreign Policy Decision-making
This dissertation is an analysis of how presidents make foreign policy decisions. Rather than explaining foreign policy decisions by focusing on individuals or institutions, I stress the role of political pressures and context faced by presidents. It shows that foreign policy decisions are not merely a reaction to stimulus from the international or domestic arenas but involve political considerations that affect policy choice. The dynamic elements in the argument are political resources and risk. The relationship between the risk propensity of the president and presidential political resources provides an important link to understanding foreign policy decisions. Within the realm of good public policy, a politically rational president can choose to act or respond to foreign policy disputes in various ways, including diplomacy, political coercion, economic coercion, covert action, or military intervention, based on his assessment of the political context and his willingness to accept the associated risks. The level of presidential political resources determines the risk propensity of the president. Presidential foreign policy decisions will vary depending on the quantity of available political resources. Thus, understanding the risk propensity of the president increases our ability to explain foreign policy decisions. The contribution of this research is the identification of a mechanism for understanding how the interaction between the domestic and international political environments, and individual decision-makers influence foreign policy decisions. My research bridges the gap between structural theories, "theories that make predictions about foreign policy outcomes without reference to the cognition and actions of the actors themselves" and decision-making theories that stress the role of the actors (Ikenberry 2002, 5). Although the component parts of the foreign policy decision making system are widely known, we lack theories that tie the pieces together.
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