All over the Map: Leaders and Micromanagement in the Vietnam War

• In Event: Pioneering Research on Leaders and Elites in Foreign Policy

Abstract

Leaders and publics alike can show a profound lack of geographic orientation regarding foreign affairs. An important function of bureaucracy is regularly providing geographic orientation for busy leaders confronting an always-evolving foreign policy landscape. Maps are central to this. This paper analyzes a novel dataset of all declassified maps delivered to the senior-most American leaders via the President’s Daily Brief (PDB) during the Vietnam War. We argue that the frequency and content of geographic orientation during Vietnam was driven by leader-specific management styles. We conceptualize the varieties of micromanagement, distinguishing between a personalized style of policy control which integrates bureaucratic representatives (“inclusive micromanagement”) and one which excludes the bureaucracy and its senior leaders (“exclusive micromanagement”). We review quantitative and qualitative evidence that provides strong support for our theory. Even as the Vietnam War escalated and domestic criticism swelled, Johnson did not receive a surge in geographic orientation because of his preference for face-to-face, inclusive micromanagement. Nixon and Kissinger, in contract, bypassed the bureaucracy. The bureaucracy adapted by providing many more maps with greater detail, even as the war wound down. Our theory and findings shed light on an important but understudied dimension of geography in International Relations along with literatures on leaders and the conduct of the Vietnam War.

Authors

• Austin Carson, University of Chicago

• Ari Weil, University of Chicago