Matthew A. Baum and Philip B. K. Potter
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691164984
- eISBN:
- 9781400866472
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691164984.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter examines the effects of party systems and media access on public attitudes and government decisions regarding coalition joining in the periods leading up to and immediately following the ...
More
This chapter examines the effects of party systems and media access on public attitudes and government decisions regarding coalition joining in the periods leading up to and immediately following the initiations of two distinct multinational military conflicts: Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Drawing on cross-national data on public support for the Iraq War and Afghanistan invasion and the decisions of countries to contribute troops to the coalitions that the United States sought to assemble in both conflicts, the chapter shows that the quality and flow of information from whistleblowers mediates public support for intervention and leaders' responsiveness to public sentiment. Countries with more political parties were more likely to have populations opposed to the wars and to contribute fewer troops to the coalitions as their access to mass media increased. In contrast, in states with fewer parties, increased media access is associated with lower opposition to the wars and stronger troop commitments.Less
This chapter examines the effects of party systems and media access on public attitudes and government decisions regarding coalition joining in the periods leading up to and immediately following the initiations of two distinct multinational military conflicts: Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Drawing on cross-national data on public support for the Iraq War and Afghanistan invasion and the decisions of countries to contribute troops to the coalitions that the United States sought to assemble in both conflicts, the chapter shows that the quality and flow of information from whistleblowers mediates public support for intervention and leaders' responsiveness to public sentiment. Countries with more political parties were more likely to have populations opposed to the wars and to contribute fewer troops to the coalitions as their access to mass media increased. In contrast, in states with fewer parties, increased media access is associated with lower opposition to the wars and stronger troop commitments.
Matthew A. Baum and Philip B. K. Potter
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691164984
- eISBN:
- 9781400866472
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691164984.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This concluding chapter discusses the implications of the book's theory and findings for future academic research in international relations. It argues that insufficient attention to underlying ...
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This concluding chapter discusses the implications of the book's theory and findings for future academic research in international relations. It argues that insufficient attention to underlying mechanisms has obscured the consistent role of democratic political institutions in conflict processes. It shows that an essential ingredient for generating democratic constraint is the presence of institutional arrangements—robust opposition and broad public access to media—that minimize a leader's capacity to manipulate the policy information available to citizens. Only when such arrangements are in place can we expect democratic foreign policy to be responsive to the will of the people. The chapter also considers the policy implications of the findings in terms of conflict initiation, conflict reciprocation, and coalition joining. Finally, it offers some prescriptions for media ownership and describes the possible roles of the Internet and satellite television— media technologies that had not yet proliferated globally during much of the period under investigation.Less
This concluding chapter discusses the implications of the book's theory and findings for future academic research in international relations. It argues that insufficient attention to underlying mechanisms has obscured the consistent role of democratic political institutions in conflict processes. It shows that an essential ingredient for generating democratic constraint is the presence of institutional arrangements—robust opposition and broad public access to media—that minimize a leader's capacity to manipulate the policy information available to citizens. Only when such arrangements are in place can we expect democratic foreign policy to be responsive to the will of the people. The chapter also considers the policy implications of the findings in terms of conflict initiation, conflict reciprocation, and coalition joining. Finally, it offers some prescriptions for media ownership and describes the possible roles of the Internet and satellite television— media technologies that had not yet proliferated globally during much of the period under investigation.
