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Alexander George as Architect, Engineer and Community-Builder

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Alexander L. George: A Pioneer in Political and Social Sciences

Part of the book series: Pioneers in Arts, Humanities, Science, Engineering, Practice ((PAHSEP,volume 15))

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Abstract

The scholarship of Alexander L. George identifies central puzzles in political psychology and international relations. This essay reviews his pioneering work on personality and foreign policy behavior, cognition and foreign policy behavior, decision making, the importance of “substantive theory” in the explanation of foreign policy behavior, “process theory” and the explanation of decision making, and “policy-relevant theory” that bridges the gap between the academic and policy communities. In his scholarship, George defined an enduring blueprint for the study of the psychology of international relations and simultaneously built bridges across disciplines. George is architect, engineer, and community-builder in political psychology.

Alexander and Juliette George graciously agreed to talk with me about the development of their work. This text was first published as: “An Agenda for Political Psychology: Alexander George as Architect, Engineer and Community-Builder,” Political Psychology, vol. 15, no. 1, 1994, pp. 1–15.

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Stein, J.G. (2019). Alexander George as Architect, Engineer and Community-Builder. In: Caldwell, D. (eds) Alexander L. George: A Pioneer in Political and Social Sciences. Pioneers in Arts, Humanities, Science, Engineering, Practice, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90772-7_4

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