Political Science ETDs

Publication Date

5-27-1966

Abstract

"Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed." This first sentence in the Preamble of the Constitution of the United Nation's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a concise statement of the motivation of the psychologists now involved in the study of international relations. The end of World War Two and the beginning of the nuclear arms race held special significance for these scholars. Other disciplines had shown their inability to adequately understand the nature of the international system, while at the same time demonstrating their ability to produce the means to destroy it. In the study of international relations a dimension had been ignored, the behavioral or human dimension. In response to this situation the talents and energy of many competent psychologists have been devoted to investigating what Otto Klineberg calls The Human Dimensions of International Relations. Valuable contributions have been made in the understanding of prejudice, nationalism, conflict resolution, group theory and decision making. Continuing research in these and other areas promises to increase the understanding of the problems of international conflict and thereby to contribute to the construction of the defenses of peace. During the 195O's a quickening of interest in the nature of international conflict was aroused by the increase in international tensions which was accompanied by a dangerous increase in destructive military potential. One result of this increased interest was a series of theoretical articles by the psychologist Charles Osgood. The theoretical basis of these articles was the established relation between stress and rationality in decision making. Osgood expanded his ideas and formalized them in his book, An Alternative to War or Surrender. The assumption underlying these works of Osgood was that the human being as decision maker in the international system exhibits the same behavior under stress as the human being as decision maker in a personal system. What makes Osgood's works of particular interest is that he not only discusses the psychological factors involved but also, from his evaluation of these factors, he outlines a proposal for the lessening of international tensions. One major weakness that remains in Osgood's book is that he did not examine his underlying assumption in the light of historical events. The examination of this assumption is the purpose of this paper. The area of arms negotiations provides numerous instances wherein Osgood's assumption can be examined. There are several advantages to this approach. One is that the subject of the arms negotiations is closely related to an important reactive factor in the contemporary tension increasing system, the arms race. Another is that the actual negotiations were, generally speaking, a public matter. A third advantage is that the goal of the negotiations, control of atomic weapons, has been reasonably clear-cut and mutual. Chapter I is devoted to an examination and discussion of Osgood's formulation of his proposal. Chapter I contains basic definitions and an outline of the analytic method to be employed. Chapters II, III, and IV are a review of the arms race and the arms negotiations following World War II until the spring of 1960. These chapters provide general background and knowledge essential to the analysis which concludes each Chapter. The significant events are isolated in preparation for review in Chapter V. This final Chapter also contains a summary and conclusions.

Degree Name

Political Science

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Political Science

First Committee Member (Chair)

Tommie Phillip Wolf

Second Committee Member

Harry Paul Stumpf

Third Committee Member

Bert Zippel

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

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