Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-xtgtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-16T11:10:58.572Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Regime Type, Post-Materialism, and International Public Opinion about US Foreign Policy: The Afghan and Iraqi Wars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2006

BENJAMIN E. GOLDSMITH
Affiliation:
School of Policy, University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia. benjamin.goldsmith@newcastle.edu.au

Abstract

Previous research (e.g., Horiuchi, Goldsmith, and Inoguchi, 2005) has shown some intriguing patterns of effects of several variables on international public opinion about US foreign policy. But results for the theoretically appealing effects of regime type and post-materialist values have been weak or inconsistent. This paper takes a closer look at the relationship between these two variables and international public opinion about US foreign policy. In particular, international reaction to the wars in Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) are examined using two major multinational surveys. The conclusions of previous research are largely reinforced: neither regime type nor post-materialist values appears to robustly influence global opinion on these events. Rather, some central interests, including levels of trade with the US and NATO membership, and key socialized factors, including a Muslim population, experience with terrorism, and the exceptional experiences of two states (Israel, Albania) emerge as the most important factors in the models. There is also a consistent backlash effect of security cooperation with the US outside of NATO. A discussion of these preliminary results points to their theoretical implications and their significance for further investigation into the transnational dynamics of public opinion and foreign policy.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2006 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Partial support was provided by the National University of Singapore through University Academic Research Grant R-108-000-009-112 and an SRSS grant (FY2004). I thank Yusaku Horiuchi, Takashi Inoguchi, and all of the Tokyo conference participants for useful discussions. I thank Li Hongxia, Ma Shaohua, and Shubashree Sen for very capable research assistance.