Date of Award
Spring 2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Debs, Alexandre
Abstract
This dissertation explores leadership and the politics of diplomacy at the international and domestic levels. How do leaders shape and intervene in their domestic environments to gain diplomatic advantages on the international stage? And how does political accountability constrain leaders on matters of cooperation? The dissertation includes three chapters that address these questions. The first chapter argues that regime type determines whether hawkish or dovish leaders are more likely to achieve a rapprochement with international rivals. Using game theory and quantitative and qualitative empirics, it shows that doves are more likely to achieve a rapprochement when they lead autocracies rather than democracies. The second chapter explains that patronage is only one reason that U.S. presidents and other leaders use relative novices for high-ranking diplomatic posts. Using game theory and a novel dataset on U.S. ambassadorial appointments, the chapter shows that political appointees' familiarity with the president offers distinct diplomatic advantages, especially for high-importance assignments. The last chapter is co-authored and explores the link between leaders' domestic actions and international reputations for resolve. Using formal theory and conjoint experiments, it shows that standing firm in domestic disputes can have a large impact on perceptions of a leaders' willingness to use force abroad. Domestic actions that are highly salient and similar in costs to military conflict can produce reputational effects on par with past in international crisis behavior.
Recommended Citation
Goldfien, Michael, "Essays on Leadership, Domestic Politics, and Diplomacy" (2023). Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations. 1002.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/gsas_dissertations/1002
