Globalist Backlash: Nationalism and Reactant Response to Foreign Endorsements

• In Event: International Political Behavior

Abstract

Can foreign endorsements induce backlash reactions? The few existing studies on the effects of foreign interventions on public opinion and voting focus on democracy promotion and arrive at mixed conclusions. Others study national media endorsements specifically and find positive effects. This paper investigates whether different nationalities of the intervening authorities increase or decrease the probability of a negative (reactant) reaction. We conduct a survey experiment using a political endorsement. The treatment consists of manipulating the nationality of the endorsing authority. We test three competing hypotheses: (1) the reactant reactions to endorsements coming from historical ‘ally’ nationalities are weaker than those to the ‘enemy’ nationalities; (2) the backlash is similarly strong to all foreign advice – which would mean that it is aimed at all cosmopolitan elites; (3) the backlash is similarly strong to all advice, including national advice – i.e. it is aimed at all elites. Additionally, we explore whether different nationalities trigger mechanisms such as insecurity or nationalism, and whether the reactant reaction is moderated by the exogenous factor of living close to the country’s border.

Authors

• Kasia Nalewajko, European University Institute

• Mark A. Kayser, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin