Australian Public Opinion, Defence and Foreign Policy

Australian Public Opinion, Defence and Foreign Policy PDF

Author: Danielle Chubb

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-10-28

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 9811573972

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This book examines the impact of Australian public opinion towards defence and foreign policy from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. For most of this period, the public showed little interest in defence and security policy and possessed limited knowledge about the strategic options available. The principal post-war exception to this pattern is, of course, the Vietnam War, when political divisions over Australia’s support for the U.S.-led action eventually resulted in the withdrawal of troops in 1972. The period since 2001 has seen a fundamental change both in the public’s views of defence and foreign affairs, and in how these issues are debated by political elites. This has come about as a result of major changes in the strategic environment such as a heightened public awareness of terrorism, party political divisions over Australia’s military commitment to the 2003-11 Iraq War and the increasing overlap of economic and trade considerations with defence and foreign policies, which has increased the public’s interest in these issues. Combining the expertise of one of Australia's foremost scholars of public opinion with that of an expert of international relations, particularly as pertains to Australia in Asia, this book will be a critical read for those wishing to understand Australia's alliance with the U.S., interactions with Asia and China, and the distinctive challenges posed to Australia by its geographic position.

British Public Opinion on Foreign and Defence Policy

British Public Opinion on Foreign and Defence Policy PDF

Author: Ben Clements

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-11-07

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 1351814257

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This book provides a long-term perspective on the opinions of the British public on foreign and defence policy in the post-war era. Thematically wide-ranging, it looks at the broader role of foreign and defence policy in British politics and elections, public opinion towards Britain’s key international relationships and alliances (the United States, NATO, the EU and the Commonwealth), and public opinion towards the projection of ‘soft power’ (overseas aid) and ‘hard power’ (defence spending, nuclear weapons and military intervention). Assessing the main areas of change and continuity in the public’s views, it also pays close attention to the dividing lines in wider society over foreign and defence policy. Analysing an extensive range of surveys and opinion polls, the book situates the analysis in the wider context of Britain’s changing foreign policy role and priorities in the post-war era, as well as linking public opinion with the politics of British external policy – the post-war consensus on Britain’s overseas role, historical and contemporary areas of inter-party debate, and enduring intra-party divides. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of British politics, European politics, foreign policy analysis, public opinion, defence and security studies and more broadly to comparative politics and international relations.

In Defense of Negativity

In Defense of Negativity PDF

Author: John G. Geer

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2008-07-29

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 0226285006

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Americans tend to see negative campaign ads as just that: negative. Pundits, journalists, voters, and scholars frequently complain that such ads undermine elections and even democratic government itself. But John G. Geer here takes the opposite stance, arguing that when political candidates attack each other, raising doubts about each other’s views and qualifications, voters—and the democratic process—benefit. In Defense of Negativity, Geer’s study of negative advertising in presidential campaigns from 1960 to 2004, asserts that the proliferating attack ads are far more likely than positive ads to focus on salient political issues, rather than politicians’ personal characteristics. Accordingly, the ads enrich the democratic process, providing voters with relevant and substantial information before they head to the polls. An important and timely contribution to American political discourse, In Defense of Negativity concludes that if we want campaigns to grapple with relevant issues and address real problems, negative ads just might be the solution.

The Oxford Handbook of American Public Opinion and the Media

The Oxford Handbook of American Public Opinion and the Media PDF

Author: Robert Y. Shapiro

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2013-05-23

Total Pages: 804

ISBN-13: 0199673020

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With engaging new contributions from the major figures in the fields of the media and public opinion The Oxford Handbook of American Public Opinion and the Media is a key point of reference for anyone working in American politics today.

Strategic Narratives, Public Opinion and War

Strategic Narratives, Public Opinion and War PDF

Author: Beatrice De Graaf

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-02-11

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 131767328X

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This volume explores the way governments endeavoured to build and maintain public support for the war in Afghanistan, combining new insights on the effects of strategic narratives with an exhaustive series of case studies. In contemporary wars, with public opinion impacting heavily on outcomes, strategic narratives provide a grid for interpreting the why, what and how of the conflict. This book asks how public support for the deployment of military troops to Afghanistan was garnered, sustained or lost in thirteen contributing nations. Public attitudes in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe towards the use of military force were greatly shaped by the cohesiveness and content of the strategic narratives employed by national policy-makers. Assessing the ability of countries to craft a successful strategic narrative, the book addresses the following key areas: 1) how governments employ strategic narratives to gain public support; 2) how strategic narratives develop during the course of the conflict; 3) how these narratives are disseminated, framed and perceived through various media outlets; 4) how domestic audiences respond to strategic narratives; 5) how this interplay is conditioned by both events on the ground, in Afghanistan, and by structural elements of the domestic political systems. This book will be of much interest to students of international intervention, foreign policy, political communication, international security, strategic studies and IR in general.

How far, if at all, do the media and public opinion influence US foreign and defence policy?

How far, if at all, do the media and public opinion influence US foreign and defence policy? PDF

Author: Carina Siegmund

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2008-12-02

Total Pages: 18

ISBN-13: 3640224213

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Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - Region: USA, grade: First/ 80%, University of Reading (United Kingdom - International Relations), course: US Foreign and Defence Policy, language: English, abstract: In the United States of America the media is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.” The media are institutions whose primary concern it is to produce and distribute all forms of knowledge, information and entertainment and encompass print media, television, radio and the internet. For the purposes of this paper, the focus shall be on television, as “television is undoubtedly the pre-eminent form of the media in the United States” and it is the medium of choice for Americans looking for information. In a democracy such as the United States of America, the media ought to report impartially and in a way to inform and engage the public. Public opinion is understood as a collective view of a given issue. Foreign policy shall be defined as the goals a state wants to attain abroad, the values that determine to those objectives, and the means or instruments used to pursue them.

In Defence of Democracy

In Defence of Democracy PDF

Author: Roslyn Fuller

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2019-10-18

Total Pages: 107

ISBN-13: 150953315X

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Should Brexit or Trump cause us to doubt our faith in democracy? Are ‘the people’ too ignorant or stupid to rule? Numerous commentators are seriously arguing that the answer to these questions might be ‘yes’. In this take-no-prisoners book, Canadian-Irish author Roslyn Fuller kicks these anti-democrats where it hurts the most – the facts. Fuller shows how many academics, journalists and politicians have embraced the idea that there can be ‘too much democracy’, and deftly unravels their attempts to end majority rule, whether through limiting the franchise, pursuing Chinese ‘meritocracy’ or confining participation to random legislation panels. She shows that Trump, Brexit or whatever other political event you may have disapproved of recently aren’t doing half the damage to democracy that elite self-righteousness and corruption are. In fact, argues Fuller, there are real reasons to be optimistic. Ancient methods can be combined with modern technology to revitalize democracy and allow the people to truly rule. In Defence of Democracy is a witty and energetic contribution to the debate on the future of democracy.

In Defense Of Public Opinion Polling

In Defense Of Public Opinion Polling PDF

Author: Kenneth F Warren

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-02-15

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 0429968450

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In the 2000 national elections, $100 million was spent on campaign polling alone. A $5 billion industry from Gallup to Zogby, public opinion polling is growing rapidly with the explosion of consumer-oriented market research, political and media polling, and controversial Internet polling. By many measures from editorial cartoons to bumper stickers we hate pollsters and their polls. We think of polling as hopelessly flawed, invasive of our privacy, and just plain annoying. At times we even argue that polling is illegal, unconstitutional, and downright un-American. Yet we crave the information polling provides. What do other Americans think about gun control? School vouchers? Airline performance?