Article : The Decider's Dilema : Leader Culpability,War Outcomes, and Domestic Punishment By Sarah E. Croco
Please give me a detailed summary of this article .
A leader's culpability for involving his state in a conflict affects both his war termination calculus /' and his domestic audience's willingness to punish him if he loses.
I define a culpable leader as any leader who either presides over the beginning of a war ; or comes to power midwar and shares apolitical connection with a culpable predecessor. Using a data set created specifically for this study , I find that culpable leaders are more likely than nonculpable ones to achieve favorable war outcomes.
I also find that domestic audiences will be willing to punish culpable leaders who lose, yet spare nonculpable leaders who do the same. Taken together ; my findings underscore the need to appreciate more fully the
role individual leaders play in bringing their states to war.