Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper explores the impact of threat and media consumption on American opinion on foreign policy after 9/11. I find that American attitudes toward foreign policy grew more hawkish from 2000 to 2002, with Americans expressing support for increased spending on domestic security and the military. In addition to showing how opinion changes over time, I demonstrate that rather than the threat alone, it is citizens’ perceptions of the threat of terrorism moderated by their television news consumption that structure foreign policy attitudes. Specifically, as individuals watch more television and feel more threatened by terrorism, they are more likely to support troop deployments to countries as varied as Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan. Also, they are more likely to want more federal spending on homeland security, including securing borders from illegal immigrants but less likely to want more foreign aid.