In Influence from Abroad, Danny Hayes and Matt Guardino show that United States public opinion about American foreign policy can be shaped by foreign leaders and representatives of international organizations. By studying news coverage, elite debate, and public opinion prior to the Iraq War, the authors demonstrate that US media outlets aired and published a significant amount of opposition to the invasion from official sources abroad, including British, French, and United Nations representatives. In turn, these foreign voices – to which millions of Americans were exposed – drove many Democrats and independents to signal opposition to the war, even as domestic elites supported it. Contrary to conventional wisdom that Americans care little about the views of foreigners, this book shows that international officials can alter domestic public opinion, but only when the media deem them newsworthy. Their conclusions raise significant questions about the democratic quality of United States foreign policy debates.
• Overturns conventional wisdom by empirically demonstrating that foreign elite rhetoric can affect United States public opinion • Provides a theory with significant implications for understanding public opinion and its role in democratic politics in an increasingly globalized world • Comprehensively and rigorously analyzes US mainstream news coverage, elite debate, and public opinion in the lead-up to the 2003 Iraq war
Contents
1. The puzzle of polarized opinion: elite discourse, mass media, and American foreign policy attitudes; 2. Us vs. them: domestic support and foreign opposition in media coverage of the Iraq War debate; 3. Byrd gets no word: journalistic norms and the replacement of domestic dissent with foreign opposition; 4. When foreign voices persuade: predispositions, partisanship, and international influence on US public opinion; 5. Conclusion: foreign voices, new media, and democratic accountability in US foreign policy; Appendix A: variable information; Appendix B: statistical models.
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