Why Leaders Lie: The Truth About Lying in International Politics by John J. Mearsheimer

Author:John J. Mearsheimer [Mearsheimer, John J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: General, Philosophy, Political, International Relations, Psychology, Political Science, Political Process, Leadership, Political ethics, Political aspects, Truthfulness and falsehood, Moral and ethical aspects, Diplomacy, Truthfulness and falsehood - Political aspects, International relations - Moral and ethical aspects
ISBN: 9780199758739
Publisher: Oxford University Press US
Published: 2011-01-07T05:00:00+00:00

WHEN STRATEGIC COVER-UPS ARE LIKELY

Stipulating when strategic cover-ups are more or less likely is somewhat complicated because this kind of deception involves two kinds of behavior—hiding incompetence and masking controversial policies—and two different audiences—other countries and the leader's own public.

For starters, let us focus on the question of when a leader is likely to lie to help hide either a failed or controversial policy from another country. Not surprisingly, the circumstances that are likely to push leaders to engage in inter-state lying also apply to strategic cover-ups. In both cases, leaders are lying to another state because they think it is in the national interest.

This means that leaders are more likely to engage in strategic cover-ups aimed at foreign audiences when their country is: (1) located in a dangerous region, (2) involved in a crisis, (3) engaged in a war, or (4) dealing with a rival rather than an ally.

Strategic cover-ups, of course, are more than just inter-state lies; leaders direct them at their own people as well as the outside world. Masking incompetence from the public is most likely to occur in wartime, especially if the conflict is thought to be a fight for survival. The stakes will be so high in such a situation that leaders will not hesitate to lie to their citizenry if they think that it is necessary to avoid defeat and win the war.

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