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Implicit in most recent social science explanations of human behavior is a conception of man as universalhomo economicus. Although such a conception is capable of giving a powerful account of a great deal of human action, its account of the nature and variety of human values is inadequate. Cultural assumptions about the meaning of "self" and "others," and about relations between human beings, are likely to vary from one society to another. These assumptions affect the collective decision processes of political elites under conditions of complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity. The author first addresses the question of how to construct a compelling cultural explanation, and then offers evidence which suggests that, because Chinese, Japanese, and Russians tend to hold somewhat different conceptions of "self" and "others" than do Americans (the former tending to be more collectivist than the latter), these different conceptions have implications for collective decision making.

During the Cold War years, one could argue that the constraints of the bipolar rivalry dwarfed in large part the domestic idiosyncrasies of nations. Now, however, nations often define national interest in terms of particularistic domestic motivations and imperatives--a change that calls for systemic study of the effect of societal culture on foreign policy. This collection introduces the reader to the evolution of thinking about culturue and foreign policy. The authors also assess the current state of the field, clarify theoretical concepts and frameworks, and investigate approproate and innovative methodologies for empirical study