Record Details

Replication Data for: Do External Threats Unite or Divide? Security Crises, Rivalries, and Polarization in American Foreign Policy

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

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Title Replication Data for: Do External Threats Unite or Divide? Security Crises, Rivalries, and Polarization in American Foreign Policy
 
Identifier https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/YNVYO2
 
Creator Myrick, Rachel
 
Publisher Harvard Dataverse
 
Description A common explanation for increasing polarization in contemporary American foreign policy is the absence of external threat. I identify two mechanisms through which threats could reduce polarization: by revealing information about an adversary that elicits a bipartisan response from policymakers (information mechanism) and by heightening the salience of national relative to partisan identity (identity mechanism). To evaluate the information mechanism, Study 1 uses computational text analysis of the Congressional Record to explore whether security threats reduce partisanship in attitudes towards foreign adversaries. To evaluate the identity mechanism, Study 2 uses historic public opinion polls to assess whether threats reduce affective polarization among the public. Study 3 tests both mechanisms in a survey experiment that heightens a security threat from China. The studies show that the external threat hypothesis has limited ability to explain either polarization in U.S. foreign policy or affective polarization among American public. Instead, responses to external threats reflect the domestic political environment in which they are introduced. The findings cast doubt on predictions that new foreign threats will inherently create partisan unity.
 
Subject Social Sciences
security threat
international crisis
rivalry
polarization
US foreign policy
 
Contributor Matthews, Elana