The Effect of Partisanship, Sophistication, and Political Contexts on Belief in Democracy Promotion

This article examines the questions of who believes in democracy promotion, what makes individuals change their belief in this ideal, and how that change occurs. I propose an interaction model where both political contexts and individuals' characteristics (partisanship and sophistication) work together in accounting for individuals' acceptance of democracy promotion. To explore the question, I use the surveys conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs from 1998 to 2008. The results show that partisanship moderates the effect of political events on individuals' acceptance of the ideal. Furthermore, sophistication-level conditions the effect of the interaction between partisanship and events in accounting for acceptance of democracy promotion. Specifically, compared with less-sophisticated Democrats and Republicans, the more-sophisticated partisans interpret the Iraq war differently and, in turn, their belief in democracy promotion is significantly influenced by this event. Related Articles Collins, Stephen D. 2010. “Regional Trade Agreements and Democracy Promotion: Measuring the Influence of Democracy Requirements in Regional Trade Agreements.” Politics & Policy 38 (4): 737-764. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2010.00256.x/abstract Quinn, Adam. 2007. “The Great Illusion: Chimeras of Isolationism and Realism in Post-Iraq U.S. Foreign Policy.” Politics & Policy 35 (3): 522-547. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2007.00071.x/abstract Dolan, Chris J. 2008. “The Shape of Elite Opinion on U.S. Foreign Policy, 1992 to 2004.” Politics & Policy 36 (4): 542-585. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2007.00121.x/abstract Related Media Diamond, Larry. 2010. “Doing Democracy Promotion Right.” Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/doing-democracy-promotion-right-82937 Drake, Bruce. 2013. “Americans Put Low Priority on Promoting Democracy Abroad.” http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/12/04/americans-put-low-priority-on-promoting-democracy-abroad/ Bakerfeb, Peter. 2014. “Wary Stance from Obama on Ukraine.” http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/25/world/europe/wary-stance-from-obama.html?_r=0 Este articulo analiza las preguntas ?quien cree en la promocion de la democracia? ?que hace que los individuos cambien su creencia en este ideal? y ?como es que ocurre tal cambio? Propongo un modelo de interaccion donde el contexto politico y caracteristicas individuales-afiliacion politica y sofisticacion-determinan si un individuo acepta o no la promocion de la democracia. Para analizar estas preguntas se usan encuestas realizadas por el Chicago Council on Global Affairs de los anos 1998 a 2008. Los resultados muestran que la afiliacion politica modera el impacto de eventos politicos en la aceptacion del ideal por parte de los individuos. Ademas, el nivel de sofisticacion regula el efecto de la interaccion entre la afiliacion politica y los eventos que determinan la promocion de la democracia en los individuos. Especificamente, comparado con democratas y republicanos menos sofisticados, los votantes mas sofisticados interpretan la guerra en Iraq de forma diferente, y a su vez su aceptacion en la promocion de la democracia ha sido significativamente influenciada por este evento.