Editorial - decision making in politics and business

“Decision making in politics and business”: the title of this issue appears to sweep virtually the entire domain of operations research and decision analysis. Given the title of the journal, of which it constitutes an issue, this choice of title seems queer indeed. Yet, there is some sense to it. We leave, namely, aside some very important fields, such as the military, production management and technology, as well as the economy at large. Instead, we focus on some of the essential questions arising in both politics and business,where the latter is (rightly) conceived as related, ultimately, to the very down-to-earth problems of money-making, even if it is not reduced to purely financial aspects. Another important aspect of the papers contained in this issue – which, even though not explicitly announced in its title, should not be overlooked – is the consideration of multiple (and diverse in their character) agents in decision problems.