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Replication Data for: US Military Intervention and Presidential Communication Frames

Harvard Dataverse (Africa Rice Center, Bioversity International, CCAFS, CIAT, IFPRI, IRRI and WorldFish)

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Title Replication Data for: US Military Intervention and Presidential Communication Frames
 
Identifier https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/5DHMYI
 
Creator Chavez, Kerry
 
Publisher Harvard Dataverse
 
Description Nations militarily intervene in other countries for a variety of reasons—strategic, economic, humanitarian, and more. Not all interventions are equal, and publics do not endorse the risk and expenditure of blood and treasure evenly across instances. Knowing this, democratic leaders are both constrained by and attempt to shape public attitudes. One way that executives can lead the public is in framing the reasons for military action. I argue that executives justify the international use of force in popular schemas even when they do not apply, and censor less popular ones even when they do, to strategically maximize public support. Using quantitative text analysis and regression techniques, this paper examines the congruence between military objectives and communication frames employed in US presidential speeches, remarks, and Congressional announcements to justify international militarized interventions. Results show that presidents carefully craft rhetoric to bolster public buy-in for international uses of force, even at risk of electoral costs for dishonesty if discovered down the line.
 
Subject Social Sciences
public opinion
political communication
military intervention
foreign policy
 
Date 2023-11-20
 
Contributor Chavez, Kerry