Abstract: This article is deticated the study of opinions and approaches of global political-academic community concerning the origins, nature and effectiveness of the domino theory in the US foreign policy of the XX-XXI centuries. The author present the theoretical-game and rational grounds of the domino theory, precedents of its use within the history of international relations over the last 50 years, as well as the objections and criticism notes of the representatives of the global academic community regarding the application of the domino theory. The conclusion is made about the simplicity and high effectiveness of the domino theory that made such strategy popular among the American foreign policy elite. Domino theory acquired high popularity due to the fact that its effectiveness could be determined only by the hypothetical possibility of the interference of the United States into the course of events. Unlike the principle of the balance of powers, which strives to consider the behavioral strategies of multiple actors and the current status of the international environments, the domino theory suggested just to possible options of the US behavior in resolving the domestic policy conflicts of the foreign nations. At the same time, the domino theory has suffered a serious ideological formation, which made it extremely controversial. This inconsistency led to the presence in the global political-academic community of several groups offering their vision of the essence and meaning of the theory in world history and politics. The largest groups can be considered the "universalists", who believe the domino theory is a universal theory that is similar to the principle of the balance of powers; and the "historicists", who define the theory as the place for the local foreign policy strategy of the United States during the Cold War period.

Abstract: This research is dedicated to the analysis of contribution of the accomplished American scholars into the study of the problem of rational choice of the XX century. The problematics of the rational choice covers an extensive circle of disciplines of the modern scientific knowledge: from mathematics to economics, and all the way to psychology and philosophy. Therefore the author examines the works of the American mathematician K. Arrow, economist P. Samuelson, political scientist H. Simon, psychologists D. Kahneman and B. Schwartz, philosopher A. Gibbard, and sociologist O. Holsti.  The main method of this work consists in biographical approach in combination with comparative analysis of the views and concepts that belong to the aforementioned scholars. During the course of this research, key trends of development of the American scientific thought within the frameworks of the paradigm of rational choice were being determined. The author underlines the methodological transition from the concept of universal rationality, which is based on implementation of mathematical and economic scientific apparatus, to the concept of limited, situational rationality based on the psychological and philosophical theories.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the human choice in the conditions of paradoxicality, compared in the series of reviewed precedents with the uncertainty and risk. A special attention is given to the choice in the area of public and political relations. Rational and intuitive choice is being analyzed from the perspective of the influence of rational-logical paradoxes, freedom of choice paradox, and limited choice paradox. The author also draws attention to the examination of the restrictions of human choice, which include gender, rational, procedural, situational, intuitive, etc. The article presents the examples of human choice within the world history and modern political sphere. The scientific novelty of the conducted research consists in the author’s approach towards formation of the analytical spatial model – “foundations/criteria/terms of choice”, which would reflect key variables of the analysis of human choice with the focus upon the information-analytical component of the process. The author also concludes that the intuitive choice requires moderate and rational optimization, which can be achieved by using the information-analytical methodologies of increasing the fullness and structuring of information that lay at the core of the rational choice.