Intervening Variables: Race and Preferences Towards the Use of Force

• In Event: Race and Racism in Foreign Policy

Abstract

Do race and ethnicity matter in determining individuals’ foreign policy views, and in turn their states’ foreign policies? Building on long-standing work that has sought to pin down a “gender gap” in support for war, we note recurring instances in which non-white groups in America - particularly black Americans - display markedly less enthusiasm for the use of force abroad than their white counterparts. This paper presents trends in historical survey data that demonstrate a racial gap in preferences for foreign policy across different groups in the United States. It then presents the results of an original survey experiment. Arguing that these differences have important implications for our understanding of citizens’ relation to war-making in the United States and elsewhere, we theorize several mechanisms that explain them.

Authors

• Andrew Leber, Harvard University

• Naima Green-Riley, Harvard University