A case study of the Kennedy administration's decision‐making concerning the diem coup of November, 1963

Abstract

The Diem Coup was a critical turning point in the Vietnam War. Here I suggest that the decision‐making surrounding the coup was characterized by conflict, confusion, and vacillation. Ultimately, the decision‐making process took on a momentum of its own in which President Kennedy and his advisers, within the loose configuration of an adhocracy, were rooted rhetorically to a combat position and propelled toward one course of action‐the coup.