Inside the Situation Room Book Launch Examines Crisis Decision-Making

Inspired by their popular class at Columbia SIPA, Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton have published a new edited volume, Inside the Situation Room. The book draws on the original research and experience of scholars and practitioners to explore how decisions get made during foreign policy crises. It explores the elements of crisis decision-making, from diplomatic dilemmas and covert operations, to the psychology of threat perception and the role of trust, to the dynamics of who sits at the table. On September 17, Columbia SIPA’s Institute of Global Politics hosted a book launch event featuring Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo, Professor of Professional Practice and Director of the IGP Women’s Initiative Jennifer Klein, former Under Secretary of State and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor in the Practice of International Diplomacy Victoria Nuland, and Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies Director Elizabeth Saunders – all of whom contributed chapters to the volume. The discussion centered around decision-making, as well as the importance of bridging the gap between theory and practice. Moderators included White House and National Security Correspondent for the New York Times, David Sanger, and Columbia SIPA Adjunct Professor, IGP Faculty Advisory Board Member, and CNN contributor Timothy Naftali.