Natasha T. Duncan

From the Interpersonal to the International: Understanding Commitment to the “War on Terror”

Applying constructs from the investment model used traditionally to understand interpersonal commitment, the present investigation seeks to elucidate social cognitive antecedents of commitment to the war on terror waged by the United States. In Study 1, satisfaction with, investments in, and alternatives to the war on terror predict levels of commitment to the war beyond several important control variables. In Study 2, levels of satisfaction with, investments in, and alternatives to the war are experimentally manipulated. The highest levels of commitment to the war are observed among participants exposed to a high satisfaction, high investment, and low alternatives scenario, and the lowest levels are among those exposed to a low satisfaction, low investment, and high alternatives scenario. These results support broadening the targets of commitment normally considered within the context of the investment model and suggest applying relational models to understanding broader societal concerns.

Satisfaction, Alternatives, Investments, and the Microfoundations of Audience Cost Models

In this paper, we suggest that the Investment Model of Commitment, developed in social psychology, offers a solution to an important microfoundational issue in audience cost theory. Audience cost models are useful for thinking about the foreign policy behaviors of democratic and nondemocratic states. However, they often assume that citizens reliably penalize leaders who break their foreign policy promises even though the empirical record suggests this is not always the case. We argue that public commitment to foreign policy assets and relationships is a precondition for the application of audience costs. Using the UN and NATO as case studies, we hypothesize that the commitments people develop to international organizations emerge as a function of (1) their satisfaction with the performance of the organization, (2) the investments in those organizations, and (3) an assessment of the alternatives to these associations. Correlational and experimental tests of the model confirm that the strongest individual-level commitments arise when people are highly satisfied with the performance of specific institutions, believe that much has been invested in support of them, and perceive that the alternatives to particular institutions are poor. Implications for the development of audience cost theory are discussed.

What About Us? The Anglo-Caribbean Democratic Experience

Abstract This article contributes to the sparse literature on democratic regimes in the Caribbean by examining the emergence and persistence of Anglo-Caribbean democracies. British colonialism, not socio-economic modernisation, explains the origins of the democratic institutions of Anglo-Caribbean states. British colonial heritage, however, fails to explain why these democracies have persisted, in contrast to the experience of other former British colonies and many Latin American and non-Anglo Caribbean states. We identify two key variables that we believe account for democratic sustainability. These are size and a political culture of patronage politics that integrates the different socio-economic and ethnic strata of Caribbean society into the political process. Size and patronage politics are conceptualised as interactive variables because the relatively small geographic size and population of Anglo-Caribbean states allow for a high degree of personalisation of politics and reinforces common political cultural dynamics. In this way, we provide a theoretical account of democratic sustainability among Anglo-Caribbean states, despite sharp inequalities, corruption and violence related to the international drug trade.

How Does the Business of News Influence Terrorism Coverage? Evidence From The Washington Post and USA Today

Observers argue that the business of news is responsible for worsening the coverage of terrorism, but exactly how economic considerations influence coverage is controversial. Based on an analysis of over 1600 articles from The Washington Post and USA Today, we find that concerns about the effects of economic pressures on terrorism reporting are exaggerated. The business climate affects coverage, but the long-term impact of market pressures on coverage is modest. Articles about terrorist violence are increasingly prominent, but coverage of counterterrorism remains robust. Efforts to inoculate the press against the worst excesses of the market are unnecessary.

Public and Subsidized Housing as a Platform for Becoming a United States Citizen

Each year, hundreds of thousands of people immigrate to the United States seeking a better way of life, and still hundreds of thousands more become citizens. Some spend time living in public and subsidized housing, sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and, each year, thousands of these individuals attain citizenship. This paper presents an econometric analysis of the propensity of non-citizens living in HUD‐sponsored housing to naturalize. Providing housing and other forms of public assistance to non-citizens is controversial but the fact of the matter is that, under current rules, many qualify for aid so, facing that fact, an important contribution of this research is to identify the type of program that works best in the context of broader national objectives. The key finding is that the market‐based approach of the housing choice voucher program — and the spatial mobility it facilitates — significantly and substantively contribute to naturalization.