România în vara anului 1916: paradigma actorului rațional și câteva mecanisme psiho-cognitive specifice procesului decizional
Romania in the Summer of 1916: the Paradigm of the Rational Actor and Some Psycho-cognitive Mechanisms Specific to the Decision-making Process

Summary/Abstract: Hundred years ago, in the first half of the year 1916, the Romanian decision-makers continued to negotiate with the representatives of the Triple Entente the conditions for Romania’s entering into the Great War. The country was at the end of a two years period of neutrality and, at the domestic level, the adepts of the Triple Entente were more numerous and more vocal than those of the Central Powers. As we know, Romania aspired to receive territories which were majoritarily populated with ethnic Romanians – Transylvania, Banat, Bukovina, Bessarabia – but the material and spiritual value of these lands was to be balanced with the rational calculations regarding the potential friends and enemies and their power level. Romanian decision makers in the end agreed to side with the Entente, this giving up Bessarabia (since Russia became an ally and the old defensive treaty with the Central Powers had been abandoned in 1914), it received promises of military support from France and Russia, but the front was huge, from the Black Sea to the Danube’s entry, with all the southern Carpathians mountains belonging to this front. In the end, Romania, even if defeated by the Central powers (after the Soviet Revolution which broke the Russian army fighting capacity), managed to be recognized as one of the victorious states and greatly increased its territorial size and population. In order to understand the decision to enter the war, taken by the Liberal government, we used some specific Foreign Policy Analysis tools such as the analogy mechanism, the prospect theory and the poliheuristic theory.

• Details
• Contents