Strategic Analysis In the first season of House of Cards, Frank Underwood must make a series of decisions that he uses to strategically advance on his path back from the Senate to the White House. There are four key strategic interactions that allow Underwood to have full control of his destiny as he tries to break into the White House: helping pass an education bill, working with Zoe Barnes, working with Peter Russo, and agreeing to vet possible Candidates for the vice presidency. As Underwood's strategy progresses, it's clear that every step he takes will move him closer and closer to the White House and ultimately land him a job as Vice President of the United States. Throughout the show's first season, Underwood uses strategic thinking, framing, and engagement devices to efficiently negotiate with others and change their perceptions to allow him to gain political power as efficiently as possible. While Underwood uses these tools in his strategies, it is clear that he also uses a great deal of misdirection to convince others to collude with him in his actions to gain political clout. As Frank Underwood evaluates each situation, he does so strategically. He is sure to take into consideration all the known interests of each person he works with so that he can manipulate them to work in his favor. As it evaluates these variables, it is able to make a binary decision whether it will choose to collude with an individual or ignore them. When viewed from an individual's perspective, this seems similar to the prisoner's dilemma where the odds are never in your favor as Underwood is a man with a lot of power and a vast network resulting from being inside the Senate for... ... middle of paper ...... thus making it ineffective. If Frank chooses to deny Tusk's requests, he may find himself not recommended for Vice President and all his hard work may soon be forgotten. While this may be a step back from what Frank was hoping for, he may still be able to continue to destroy those in President Walker's cabinet. Frank ends up being an opportunist in this scenario as he finds it more pragmatic for him to find his own solution. By creating a lot of commotion through his other connections, he is able to talk Tusk into a deal where he and Tusk will work together in an equal and loyal partnership because Frank realizes that Tusk needs him to approve foreign policies. (related to China) that are in its interests. Tusk ends up giving in to this proposal and deciding to vet Frank for the vice presidency.