The 1968 Paris peace negotiations: A two level game?

Milne, David (2011) The 1968 Paris peace negotiations: A two level game? Review of International Studies, 37 (2). pp. 577-599. ISSN 1469-9044

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Abstract

This article draws on fresh archival research to challenge Robert Putnam's ‘Two Level Game Theory’. In his seminal article, ‘Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of Two Level Games’, published by International Organization in 1988, Putnam contended that international negotiations proceed at the domestic level and at the international level. In taking diplomatic initiatives forward, leaders are compelled to respond to the needs of domestic constituencies, through granting concessions and building coalitions, while international negotiations are pursued with one goal in mind: that any agreement will not damage the domestic political calculus. This article contends that Lyndon Johnson's actions in 1968 disprove this thesis. The President was in fact relaxed about a Richard Nixon victory in the general election as his commitment to defend South Vietnam from communism was stronger than that of his sitting Vice President, Hubert Humphrey. The President's concern for the fate of South Vietnam thus superseded his concern for his ‘normal supporters'– the Democratic Party at large – who had become so hostile towards his management of the Vietnam War.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Political, Social and International Studies (former - to 2014)
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Early Modern and Modern Europe (former - to 2017) Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Political, Social and International Studies
Depositing User:	David Milne
Date Deposited:	06 Apr 2011 10:11
Last Modified:	21 Jul 2023 15:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/27313
DOI:	10.1017/S0260210510000720

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