The structure of foreign policy attitudes in transatlantic perspective : comparing the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany

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Gravelle, Timothy B. and Reifler, Jason and Scotto, Thomas J. (2017) The structure of foreign policy attitudes in transatlantic perspective : comparing the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany. European Journal of Political Research, 56 (4). pp. 757-776. ISSN 0304-4130 (https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12197)

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Abstract

While public opinion about foreign policy has been studied extensively in the United States, there is less systematic research of foreign policy opinions in other countries. Given that public opinion about international affairs affects who gets elected in democracies and then constrains the foreign policies available to leaders once elected, both comparative politics and international relations scholarship benefit from more systematic investigation of foreign policy attitudes outside the US. Using new data, we find a common set of core constructs structuring both American and European attitudes about foreign policy. Surveys conducted in four countries (the US, the UK, France, and Germany) provide an expanded set of foreign policy-related survey items that are analyzed using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). We specifically test for measurement equivalence and find a common four-factor structure that fits the data in all four countries. Consequently, we make valid, direct comparisons of the foreign policy preferences of four world powers. In the process, our four-factor model confirms and expands previous work on the structure of foreign policy attitudes. We also demonstrate the capability of ESEM in testing the dimensionality and cross-national equivalence of social science concepts.

ORCID iDs

Gravelle, Timothy B., Reifler, Jason and Scotto, Thomas J. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4801-6821;
  • Item type:Article
    ID code:59678
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    30 November 2017
    Published
    20 March 2017
    Published Online
    4 January 2017
    Accepted
    Notes:This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Gravelle, T. B., Reifler, J., & Scotto, T. J. (2017). The structure of foreign policy attitudes in transatlantic perspective: comparing the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany. European Journal of Political Research, 56(4), 757-776., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12197. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving
    Subjects:Political Science > International relations
    Department:Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > Government and Public Policy > Politics
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:02 Feb 2017 10:40
    Last modified:03 Dec 2024 01:15
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/59678
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