Content analysis of elite articulations

Bibliographic Data

ID10071774
AuthorsJudith D Singer (0000-0002-5828-4961, University of Michigan, corresponding author)
Year1964
Volume8
Issue4
Pages424-485
Publication date1964-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/002200276400800406
OpenAlexW2103010746
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited25

least forewarn the reader at the outset.Let us now return to the four basic issues on which information is being sought and attempt to spell out in greater detail the nature of the information desired and the reasons behind the search.A. Image of the International EnvironmentHere we are operating from the well- founded propositions: (1) that individ- uals (alone or in groups) always have some image of their environment and that this image is an attempt to impose some accept- able (and, to them, rational) structure and order upon the world in which they must operate; and (2) that this image or at- tributed structure is a key determinant in their behavior.Thus we feel justified in attempting to identify such general and persistent dimensions in each elite's image of the international environment as:A-1. Whether harmony or conflict is the dominant attribute of the contemporary in- ternational system as they see it.A-2.Whether their mutual relationship is viewed as a struggle between ideologies, social systems, or power centers.A-3. Whether war is perceived as most likely to arise-if at all-out of one state's aggressiveness, the normal clash of national interests, or accident and miscalculation.A-4. Whether they believe that nations with differing sociopolitical characteristics must clash, may compete, or can cooperate.A-5. Whether they think of prediction about international events as highly pos- sible or almost impossible.A-6. Whether they think that nations have much, or little, control over their own destinies. conflict.In this group of dimensions we seek to discover each side's evaluation of the current and foreseeable power balance in terms of the following: B-1.Vulnerability of own strategic strike- back capability.B-2.Limitations and effectiveness of own deterrent posture.B-3.Relative progress in military tech- nology and production.B-4.Overall military capability vis-a-vis the other.B-5.Strengths of own alliances.B-6.Effectiveness of other's decisionmaking process.B-7.Dominant forces in other's decisionmaking process.B-8. Impact of arms expenditure on other's economy.B-9.Vulnerabilities of other's sociopolitical structure.B-10.Outcome of general nuclear war.C. Evaluation of Other's Operational CodeIn this realm we are interested in discov- ering how each elite perceives and evalu- ates the operational code of its adversary.Again the assumption is, to paraphrase the game theorists, that &dquo;each player's strategy is a function of the other's strategy,&dquo; or, more accurately, the perception of the other's strategy.Here we seek to identify the way in which each sees the goals, moti- vations, capabilities, and strategies of the other in terms of the following dimensions: C-1.Their ultimate and dominant political goals.C-2. Their relative preference for physical security and ideological consistency.C-3. Their relative preference for vari- ous foreign policy techniques and instru- ments.C-4.The basis for attributing aggressive designs to the adversary.C-5. Their dominant military doctrine.C-6.The purposes of their outer space programs.C-7.The purposes of their foreign aid programs

Elite · Epistemology · Harmony (color · Ideology · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Sociology · Spell · Educational Research and Analysis · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology

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