A computerized aid for international crisis management

Among the problems facing decision makers are those of receiving reliable warnings of nascent crises and of having relevant information which can be brought to bear on unforseen decision problems. This paper describes how computer technology is being used to address both of these problems in a real-time environment. Specifically, computers are being used to manage and analyze the relations among nations in order to forewarn decision makers withad hoc information retrieval and data analysis capabilities. Using computers in this fashion in the foreign policy arena is a recent innovation which may have application in other arenas where decision makers must continually anticipate and adapt to unfolding world situations.