Information inconsistency and the cognitive algebra of foreign policy decision making

This paper explores a special feature of the information complexity that un derlies foreign policy decision making, i.e., inconsistency in information. We use the actor and action images to categorize types of inconsistency. T he consequences of inconsistency for process and outcome are analyzed withi n the framework of a cognitive algebra model. Finally, we demonstrate the i mplications of the model in an experimental study. Our findings show that n ot every inconsistency is detected and those that are detected do not alway s affect the choice. The critical inconsistency is the one that presents an imbalanced structure of the actor and the action image. This inconsistency affects the choices made by decision-makers and sensitizes them to the wit hin image inconsistency. Furthermore, the results suggests that in the cont ext of the scenarios employed in this experiment the actor image has a more dominant status for the foreign policy decision making process than the ac tion image.