On the Influence of Political Leaders on International Cooperation from the Perspective of Political Psychology

The special status and role of political leaders are reflected in their direct participation in the formulation and implementation of domestic and foreign policies, their ability to guide people’s values and behavior choices internally,and their influence on the relations between countries and the stability of the international order externally. Furthermore, the process of political leaders in the diplomatic decision-making, have its own political cognition, such as political values, political attitude and diplomatic idea will affect diplomatic decision-making cognitive orientation, and state of the relationship between good or worse effect, then accelerate or slow down the process of the establishment and development of cooperation between countries. Robert Jervis’ theory of false perception shows that the cognitive orientation of political leaders has a negative impact on foreign policy decisions, which leads to conflicts and even wars between countries. Therefore, for international cooperation, the real driving force of political leaders is their adherence to positive and enterprising political values.