Essence of Political Manipulation

Book excerpt: This book takes an intriguingly original look at the dynamics of foreign policy making. Adopting a theory of political manipulation and using the case of Greek policy toward the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Nikolaos Zahariadis examines how human emotion and political institutions interact to produce cooperative and confrontational decisions. His findings have implications for policy makers, students of politics, and informed citizens who want to know how leaders manipulate ideas, emotions, and democratic institutions to make decisions that «win all the battles, but ultimately lose the war».