Partisanship, Attitudes about ROTC, and Support for US Military Intervention

• In Event: Searching for the Water’s Edge: Polarization and Foreign Policy

Abstract

Democracies inevitably involve conflict, but such conflict should be verbal disagreements rather than violent physical combat. To sustain a democracy, a military is often needed to protect the country’s values from enemies, foreign and domestic. Americans are rather supportive of the military and this trend of high support has remained steady, even if support for other institutions dwindle. However, does strong support of the military simply mean support for the military as an institution or an idea? How do people evaluate specific military programs or military activities, like training, that are out of the national spotlight, or at minimum, less discussed? What role does partisanship and respect for service members, even those in training, play in support for military interventions and other programs at home and abroad? In this project, I examine public support for the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs and see how regard for students who volunteer for service, along with knowledge, connections to the military, and partisanship affect support for military intervention programs. I find rather little partisan divide in support for when the military should be deployed in times of conflict. However, people with high regard for ROTC students and high confidence in the program are more likely to support military presence in addressing issues of humanitarian aid, drug trafficking, disaster relief and compete with foreign adversaries like Russia and China.

Author

• Jennifer Lin, Northwestern University