Mass public decisions to promote democracy: the role of foreign policy dispositions

Abstract

Recent research argues that public attitudes on foreign policy matters is structured and constrained along broad foreign policy dispositions. Much of the scholarly literature have tested this assumption on foreign policy issues with a strong domestic component. Either of military nature or nuclear security related, these matters are intermestic issues. The structure of public opinion on other foreign policy matters remain underexplored. In an endeavor to fill this gap, in this article, I test whether public opinion on democracy promotion tools of nonintermestic nature is similarly guided by citizens’ foreign policy dispositions with the help of unique experimental data.