Paying Attention to Foreign Affairs : : How Public Opinion Affects Presidential Decision Making / / Thomas Knecht.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Penn State University Press Complete eBook-Package Pre-2014
• VerfasserIn: Knecht, Thomas,
• Place / Publishing House: University Park, PA : : Penn State University Press, , [2021]; ©2010
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (280 p.)

Do American presidents consider public opinion when making foreign policy decisions? In a democracy, it is generally assumed that citizen preferences inform public policy. For a variety of reasons, however, foreign policy has always posed a difficult challenge for democratic governance. In Paying Attention to Foreign Affairs, Thomas Knecht offers new insights into the relationship between public opinion and U.S. foreign policy. He does so by shifting our focus away from the opinions that Americans hold and toward the issues that grab the public's attention. Policy making under the glare of public scrutiny differs from policy making when no one is looking. As public interest in foreign policy increases, the political stakes also rise. A highly attentive public can then force presidents to choose foreign policies that are less politically risky but usually less effective. By tracking the ebb and flow of public attention to foreign policy, this book offers a method of predicting when presidents are likely to lead, follow, or simply ignore the American public.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Figures and Tables -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- A Note on the Surveys -- Introduction -- 1 Foreign Policy in the Shadows and the Spotlight -- 2 The Five Stages of Decision Making -- 3 Patterns of Public Attention -- 4 The Persian Gulf Crisis: -- 5 Operation Desert Storm: -- 6 The Ethiopian Famine: -- 7 The Ethiopian Famine: -- Conclusion -- Appendix A: Quantitative Methods -- Appendix B: Case Study Methods -- Bibliography -- Index