(iPoster) The Intramural-Extramural Divide: Elite Origins and Foreign Policy Preferences

• In Event: Poster Sessions: Formal Political Theory & Foreign Policy II – Alliances, Coercion, and Foreign Policy Decision-Making
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Foreign Policy II – Alliances, Coercion, and Foreign Policy Decision-Making

Abstract

How do elite origins affect foreign policy views? Traditional accounts of elite opinion often assume a consensus on foreign policy matters, especially among those with similar socioeconomic backgrounds. However, this assumption overlooks potential variations based on different pathways to elite status. In Kuwait, this presents a puzzle: do all elites share similar views on international actors regardless of how they achieved their status? Using the Arab Barometer survey data, matching techniques, and a natural experiment around Kuwait's Liberation Day, I examine how different elite groups perceive foreign leaders. The results challenge conventional wisdom. Contrary to expectations of elite unity, I find a significant divide: individuals who gained elite status through education and wealth hold foreign policy views more supportive of counter-hegemonic actors such as Xi Jinping, Ali Khamenei, Bashar al-Assad, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Vladimir Putin than the established "rooted elites" of the capital. They do, however, hold a consistent view of Joe Biden's foreign policy.

Author

• Mohamed-Dhia Hammami, Maxwell School, Syracuse University