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Program in Political Psychology & Decision Making
Lab Members Bios

Lab Members Bios

Director: Prof. Alex Mintz

Professor Alex Mintz, Chairman of the Israeli Political Science Association is director of POP-DM and the BPS Lab. He also chairs the Initiative for an Inclusive Society at IDC-Herzliya. Professor Mintz served as Dean of the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at IDC from 2008-2014, and as Director of the Institute for Policy and Strategy and the Chair of the Herzliya Conference from 2014-2016.

Professor Mintz served as editor-in-chief of the journal, Political Psychology. He served as member of the editorial board of ten other international journals including, The American Political Science Review, International Studies Quarterly, Foreign Policy Analysis, International Studies Perspective, Advances in Political Psychology, and Research and Politics. Professor Mintz previously served as Associate Editor of the Yale-based Journal of Conflict Resolution (2004-2009) and as editor of the University of Chicago Press book series in Leadership and Decision Making in the International Arena.

Prof. Mintz is the 2005 recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award of the Foreign Policy Analysis section of the International Studies Association (ISA) for distinguished contributions to the field, and the 1993 recipient of the Karl Deutsch Award of the ISA for the most important contribution of any scholar in the world under age of forty to the scientific study of International Relations.

Mintz is the author of The Polythink Syndrome: US Foreign Policy Decisions on 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran and ISIS (Stanford University Press, 2016, with C. Wayne), and of Understanding Foreign Policy Decision Making (Cambridge University Press, 2010, with K. DeRouen), as well as 9 other books and edited volumes. He currently has book contracts with Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and the University of Chicago Press. Mintz has published in such top journals as the American Political Science Review (1988, 1989, 1990, 1997), the American Journal of Political Science (1988 and 1991), International Studies Quarterly (2011), American Journal of Sociology (1986), Political Psychology (2009 and 2015) and the Journal of Conflict Resolution (1985, 1987, 1993a, 1993b, 1997, 2004a, 2004b, 2006). He served as President of the Foreign Policy Analysis section of the ISA and together with five Nobel Laureates, is on the board of the Center for Conflict Management and Prevention in Sydney, Australia.

PhD students

	Kasey Barr I am a Ph.D student in the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, supervised by Prof. Alex Mintz and Prof. David Levi-Faur. My main area of interest is the group decision making processes of U.S. presidents and administrations regarding foreign policy. Specifically, I am researching how the group dynamic of Polythink affects both strategic and tactical decision making in times of international crisis and war. Selected publications: Barr, K. and Mintz, A. (2018 forthcoming). Did Groupthink or Polythink Derail the 2016 Raqqa Offensive? In: Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Political Science, edited by A. Mintz and L. Terris, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, forthcoming

	Chen Elisha I am a Ph.D student in the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, supervised by Prof. Alex Mintz and Prof. David Levi-Faur. My main area of interest is the application of the heuristic approach to decision-making in the areas of politics, and the analysis of factors and processes that influence decision-making choices and voting, both in terms of voter and the elected candidates. Specifically, I am studying how the decision is based on cognitive shortcuts. In addition, I am interested in the complexity of the Israeli society and the “Four Tribes approach”. Selected Publication(s) (Hebrew): Mintz, A., Weizmann, C., Steiner, T., Slonim, O., and Elisha, C. (2016). A New Order for Israel: From Vision to Reality. Institute for Policy and Strategy (IPS), IDC – Herzliya. http://www.herzliyaconference.org Mintz, A., and Elisha, C. (2016). The Four Tribes Survey. The Initiative for an Inclusive Israeli Society, IDC-Herzliya. http://www.herzliyaconference.org

	Inbal Hakman Inbal is a Ph.D student in the Department of Public Policy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, supervised by Prof. Alex Mintz and Dr. Raanan Sulitzeanu-Kenan. Her main area of interest is National Security Decision Making. Inbal is also interested in Behavioral Economics, decision biases and rationality. She serves as a fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, where she conducts research and writes on policy issues affecting the future of the Jewish people globally. Inbal holds a BA in International Relations and Communications and an Honors MA in Public Policy, both from the Hebrew University.

	Ronny Donyetz Rosenzweig I am a Ph.D student in the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, supervised by Prof. Alex Mintz and Prof. Moshe Maor. My main areas of interest are international negotiations, decision making and leadership. Specifically, I am studying the effect of Leadership Style and Group Dynamics on Success or Failure in International Negotiation. In addition, I am interested in regional and international conflicts in general, and the Arab-Israeli conflict in particular. Selected Publication(s): Failure and success of negotiations between regional rivals in an ongoing conflict: a comparison of the Israeli-Palestinian case and the Israeli-Egyptian case. M.A Thesis, University of Haifa.

	Amnon Sofrin I am a Ph.D student in the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, supervised by Prof. Alex Mintz and Dr. Pazit Ben-Non Bloom. My main area of interest is Decision Making at the Strategic-National level. Specifically I am writing a PhD dissertation on decision making on military intervention in a comparative perspective: The US, Israel, and the UK. Selected Publication(s): Sofrin, A. (2017). The Two Group Decision Model: Applications to Military Intervention in the Middle East. Sofrin, A. (2017). The Two-Group Decision Model: Applications to Military Intervention in the Middle East. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association. Baltimore, February, 2017.

Honors students

	Eldad Tal-Shir I am an Honors Track student in the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Israel. My main areas of interest are culture (specifically cultural-anthropology & cultural-psychology) and International Relations. I am currently studying how different cultures’ systems of thought affect group decision-making. In addition, I am interested in cybersecurity and ecological-sustainability. Selected Publication(s): Mintz, A., Redd, S. B., and Tal-Shir, E. (2017). The Poliheuristic Theory of Political Decision Making. In W. Thompson (Ed.), Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
	Gal Dor I am a B.A. Honors Track student in the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Israel. My main field of interest is the emotional component in decision-making. Specifically, I am researching the effect of shame on the decision-making process.
	Shlomit Rodnitzky