Many scholars have ignored the concept of ‘national interest†simply because no logical, systematic means of dealing with this key aspect of international politics has been available. A new approach to defining national interest forms the basis for this study of presidential decisions on U.S. involvement in foreign wars. Professor Nuechterlein looks at various crisis situations to determine what defense, economic, world order, and ideological interests are at stake; he identifies sixteen cost/risk and value factors that affect the U.S. view of which interest is most vital in a given...