Jennifer Ramos

Ideological structure and foreign policy preferences

We seek to understand how ideological preferences in the domestic realm are linked to those in the foreign policy arena. We suggest that stances in both are arrayed along two dimensions: one anchored by self-regarding and other-regarding objectives, the other by preferences for either positive or negative incentives-based means of policy. Using public opinion data from the Pew and Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, we find that these dimensions separate conservatives from liberals on domestic issues as well as on foreign policy preferences. Moreover, international conditions shape the precise manner in which this ideological matrix shapes foreign policy preferences, and the effects of such conditions vary by ideology.

Emotions, Terrorist Threat, and Drones: Anger Drives Support for Drone Strikes

In this article, we investigate how threat perceptions and emotions can jointly impact individuals’ attitudes toward drone strikes. We argue that conditions of threat can increase public support for the use of drone strikes. We further contend that the effect of threat perceptions on support for drone strikes is mediated by negative, emotional reactions, particularly anger. We test our arguments in France, the United States, and Turkey using data generated from nationally representative online surveys, in which individuals were randomly assigned to a control group, a condition in which they read about terrorist threat (with or without a reminder of democratic values), or a condition in which they read about economic threats. Our findings have implications for long-standing notions about the roles of rational calculations and psychological processes in influencing support for aggressive foreign policy.