I've Got a Feeling: Leaders, Summits, and Reassurance

Abstract

Abstract Students of international summit diplomacy argue that personal, face-to-face interaction between national leaders is an important factor in building trust between states. The generation of personal impressions is held to be a nonrational process driven by instinct, psychology, or the structure of the brain. However, actors may still respond to these impressions rationally. I present a model of how leaders should respond to their impressions at summits. Some implications are that attending summits may be reassuring if they are costly and trustworthy types can get good impressions of each other and then cooperate, but that mistaken impressions can also form that can lead to exploitation of trustworthy types by untrustworthy types. I illustrate the model with reference to the summits in Singapore and Hanoi between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.