Decisions related to foreign policy are complex due to their often-dire consequences--such as war-- depending upon the historical period and the type of regime involved. Generally considered as an absolute monarchy where the monarch enjoyed absolute authority to rule, the Ottoman Empire throughout its existence was involved in many diplomatic crises. However, a close look at the decision-making processes in the Ottoman Empire reveals that the monarch was far from being the sole decision-making authority. It is, therefore, appropriate to ask what structures were employed or participated in the foreign policy decision-making process in the Ottoman Empire. This study aims to identify these structures and processes with a focus on the functions of ad hoc consultation councils. For this purpose, among many other examples, the Russian annexation of Crimea in 1783 will be employed as a case study to highlight the role of consultation councils. In order to identify the roles of different actors in the state bureaucracy and their varying attitudes in the face of the crisis, the theoretical framework of the bureaucratic politics model developed by Graham Allison will be employed. The paper will show the instances of groupthink in the decision-making process and sources of conflict between the different branches of the Ottoman bureaucracy. For this purpose, this study relies on published and unpublished sources from the Republic of Turkey’s Directorate of State Archives and published archival sources from the British and French state archives. To complete the broader picture, secondary sources such as contemporary Ottoman official historiographies and memoires of the statesmen involved in the process will also be consulted. My main aim is to show that contrary to generally held assumptions, decision-making processes in the Ottoman Empire were quite complex and a range of actors, each with their own beliefs and approaches, were involved. The paper will also demonstrate that rational and material factors played a much more important role than spiritual and religious factors in decision-making. Finally, the paper will showcase a conflict with Islamic law and the realities of foreign policy, and how this conflict was solved through political flexibility.