Risk plays a dramatic role in international relations as leaders make decisions about issues such as war and peace, disarmament, and about lowering economic barriers to trade and investment. How a country's leaders think about risk in making foreign policy decisions is important in understanding why and how they make decisions. Rose McDermott applies prospect theory to four cases in American foreign policy.

Prospect theory, developed by psychologists to understand decision making under conditions of risk, suggests that decision makers who are confronting losses are more likely to take risks than are those decision makers who are satisfied with the status quo.

Risk-Taking in International Politics offers a unique application of a sophisticated psychological model to international relations theory. The book will appeal to political scientists and psychologists interested in decision making, in international relations, and in American foreign policy.