SSRP Abstract

Board 10: Partisanship and Public Opinion on International Hostility

Student Scientist: Bryan Benavente ’24
Research Mentor: Nick Dietrich (OWU Department of Mathematics & Computer Sciences)

Our study investigates how the public forms opinions on US foreign policy. We asked people to read made-up news stories about US foreign affairs and share whether they approved of the actions taken by our government. The results of our research show that the public is less likely to support the foreign policy decisions of a president from an opposing political party. We also find that the public is less likely to support foreign policy when they feel that the decision could be costly to the US.

What factors shape public opinion on foreign policy responses to international hostility? The US government has employed tactics such as condemnation, economic sanctions, provision of military aid to other actors, and direct use of military force to respond to global conflicts. The public takes partisan identity and perception of costs into consideration when determining their support for these actions. We use a survey experiment to randomly vary the partisanship of the president making foreign policy decisions as well as the involvement of state or non-state actors in the conflict. We find strong evidence that the public is less likely to support the decisions of an opposite-party president in all foreign policy responses that we test. The public is also responsive to costs, supporting war at a lower rate than other interventions. We find limited evidence that the public is likely to support alternatives to direct confrontation against state actors as opposed to non-state actors. Public opinion on international hostility is shaped by partisanship and the perceived domestic costs of intervention.