The Cuban Missile Crisis symbolizes a real showdown between two superpowers - the United States and the Soviet Union. Until today, the puzzling events occurred in the crisis prompt numerous questions, particularly in the scientific area. This research paper, therefore, aims the conduction of illustrating the main happenings during the crisis in order to be able to analyze them by using the three Conceptual Models developed by Graham T. Allison and Philip Zelikow.
Allison and Zelikow use these models to give an adequate explanation of how the process of decision-making proceeds, taking the crisis as a case study and answering three main questions: Why did the Soviet Union decide to place offensive missiles in Cuba? Why did the United States respond to the missile deployment with a blockade? Why did the Soviet Union withdraw the missiles?
For a better evaluation, this research paper thus, contextualizes firstly the Cuban Missile Crisis by explicating occurrences in the Cold War. Secondly, the suspenseful thirteen days during the Cuban Missile Crisis will be illuminated. Thirdly, in the last chapter, the models are outlined and used to answer the three puzzling questions stated above.
Table of Contents
The Cold War – An Overview
The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
Allison and Zelikow’s Conceptual Models
The Rational Model
The Organizational Process Model
The Governmental (Bureaucratic) Politics Model
Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis in Terms of Allison and Zelikow
USSR’s Deployment of Offensive Missiles in Cuba
U.S.’s Decision to Install a Blockade
Soviet Union’s Withdrawal of the Missiles
Research Objectives and Themes
This research paper aims to illustrate the key events of the Cuban Missile Crisis and analyze them through the lens of the three conceptual models developed by Graham T. Allison and Philip Zelikow. The central objective is to answer why the Soviet Union deployed missiles in Cuba, why the United States opted for a blockade, and why the Soviet Union ultimately withdrew the missiles.
- The historical context of the Cold War and the ideological rivalry between the U.S. and the USSR.
- Application of the Rational Model, Organizational Process Model, and Governmental Politics Model to crisis decision-making.
- Comparative analysis of the decision-making processes within the American and Soviet administrations.
- Evaluation of how organizational routines and bureaucratic bargaining influenced the escalation and resolution of the crisis.
Excerpt from the Book
U.S.’s Decision to Install a Blockade
Considering America’s decision to install a blockade in response to the Russian missiles, a rational analyst searches for reasons for this specific choice. Considering all the alternatives outlined in above, the American government saw the blockade as a middle way, indicating neither inaction nor a hasty attack like an invasion or an air strike. Furthermore, the burden for further action was passed over to Khrushchev, giving him the choice to prevent a military confrontation by demanding his ships to reverse. Given that the Soviet Union and the United States were challenging each other by involving several other nations, America intended to maintain its alliances. Therefore, the naval intervention was seen as the best alternative, displaying America’s purpose to prevent the killing of thousands of civilians, as it would happen in a surprise air attack. Being directly on their personal border, the American government enjoyed the local advantage, permitting them “to exploit the threat of subsequent nonnuclear steps”. Thus, rationally seen, the U.S. utilized the blockade as a countermove in an attempt to prevent a mass killing of civilians and foremost, to forestall the activation of the missiles.
Summary of Chapters
The Cold War – An Overview: This chapter provides a historical foundation by examining the rise of global rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union after World War II, emphasizing the strategy of containment and the impact of nuclear arms.
The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962: This chapter details the origins of the crisis, focusing on the Cuban Revolution, the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, and the subsequent Soviet decision to install nuclear missiles in Cuba.
Allison and Zelikow’s Conceptual Models: This chapter outlines the three theoretical frameworks—the Rational Model, the Organizational Process Model, and the Governmental Politics Model—used to interpret governmental decision-making.
Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis in Terms of Allison and Zelikow: This chapter applies the three conceptual models to the key events of the crisis, specifically analyzing the deployment, the U.S. reaction, and the final withdrawal of missiles.
Keywords
Cuban Missile Crisis, Cold War, Missile Sites, Nuclear Weapons, Kennedy-Khrushchev agreement, Conceptual Models, Decision-making, Graham T. Allison, Philip Zelikow, Rational Model, Organizational Process, Bureaucratic Politics, Blockade, Containment, Foreign Policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper examines the pivotal events of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis to understand the decision-making processes of the United States and the Soviet Union.
Which theoretical frameworks are used in this study?
The study utilizes the three conceptual models created by Graham T. Allison and Philip Zelikow: the Rational Model, the Organizational Process Model, and the Governmental (Bureaucratic) Politics Model.
What is the primary research question?
The research explores three main questions: Why did the USSR place missiles in Cuba, why did the U.S. choose a blockade, and why did the missiles eventually get withdrawn?
What methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a qualitative, analytical approach, applying theoretical models as lenses to interpret historical data and governmental decision-making patterns during the crisis.
What does the main body of the paper cover?
The main body provides an overview of the Cold War, a chronological account of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a detailed explanation of the three conceptual models, and an application of these models to the specific decisions made by the superpowers.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include the Cuban Missile Crisis, Conceptual Models, Decision-making, Cold War, and the roles of Graham T. Allison and Philip Zelikow.
How does the Organizational Process Model explain the U.S. blockade?
This model argues that the decision for a blockade was an output determined by the existing routines, capabilities, and procedures of U.S. organizations like the Navy, rather than a purely rational choice by the President.
What role did bureaucratic bargaining play in the American response?
According to the Governmental Politics Model, the U.S. response emerged as a compromise resulting from negotiations among key political players, such as Secretary Rusk, Robert McNamara, and President Kennedy, each balancing personal and departmental interests.
- Citation du texte
- Janine Evangelista (Auteur), 2018, An Examination of the Cuban Missile Crisis in terms of Allison and Zelikow's Conceptual Models, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/415801
