We present a unifying framework for the global optimization of functions which are expensive to evaluate. The framework is based on a Bayesian interpretation of radial basis function interpolation which incorporates existing methods such as Kriging, Gaussian process regression and neural networks. This viewpoint enables the application of Bayesian decision theory to derive a sequential global optimization algorithm which can be extended to include existing algorithms of this type in the literature. By posing the optimization problem as a sequence of sampling decisions, we optimize a general cost function at each stage of the algorithm. An extension to multi-stage decision processes is also discussed. The key idea of the framework is to replace the underlying expensive function by a cheap surrogate approximation. This enables the use of existing branch and bound techniques to globally optimize the cost function. We present a rigorous analysis of the canonical branch and bound algorithm in this setting as well as newly developed algorithms for other domains including convex sets. In particular, by making use of Lipschitz continuity of the surrogate approximation, we develop an entirely new algorithm based on overlapping balls. An application of the framework to the integration of expensive functions over rectangular domains and spherical surfaces in low dimensions is also considered. To assess performance of the framework, we apply it to canonical examples from the literature as well as an industrial model problem from oil reservoir simulation.