Public Policy Perspective on Group Decision‐Making Dynamics in Foreign Policy

Research on decision making in foreign policy and national security has had little interaction with the field of public policy. This review connects the two fields. We utilize a key public policy concept, the policy cycle, to provide a framework for our review of group decision‐making dynamics in national security and foreign policy. We describe key stages of the policy cycle followed by a review of the leading models of group decision‐making dynamics. We then construct a bridge between the two, demonstrating how specific stages of the policy cycle are typically associated with specific group decision‐making dynamics. To illustrate this link we provide an example of decision‐making dynamics within the Obama administration throughout policy stages of the 2016 campaign against the Islamic State in Raqqa, Syria.