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Public Approval (public + approval)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	75%

Selected Abstracts

Congress, Presidential Approval, and U.S. Dispute Initiation

FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS, Issue 4 2008
David J. Brulé
Do presidents initiate disputes in response to low public approval ratings? Although research on the diversionary use of force finds links between poor economic conditions and military disputes, findings evaluating the effect of presidential approval ratings typically fail to support the diversionary hypothesis. But this research tends to neglect the role of presidential-congressional relations in the president's foreign policy making processes. This paper applies the policy availability argument to the puzzle: legislative constraints on presidential action during periods of low public approval compel the president to pursue alternatives that he can implement largely on his own in order to display his leadership skills,including the use of military force abroad. The argument is tested by examining the interactive effects of congressional support for the president and presidential approval ratings on the propensity to initiate militarized interstate disputes from 1949 to 2000. The results indicate that the president is more likely to use force in response to low presidential approval when faced with low congressional support. [source]

Subnational Foreign Policy Actors: How and Why Governors Participate in U.S. Foreign Policy

FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS, Issue 3 2008
Samuel Lucas McMillan
U.S. governors lead overseas missions seeking investment and promoting trade, establish international offices, meet with heads of government, receive ambassadors, and take positions on foreign policy. This paper describes how governors are involved in participating in U.S. foreign policy, explains why governors seek to voice their views and play an active role in working with leaders and issues beyond their state's borders, and argues that U.S. states and governors need to be better conceptualized and considered in both international relations theory and foreign policy analysis. This study reveals that governors with greater institutional powers,such as appointment and budgetary control,as well as personal powers,derived from their electoral mandate, ambition, and public approval,are more likely to have higher degrees of foreign policy activity. These actions are more likely to take place during wartime and also from governors representing U.S. states bordering Canada or Mexico. [source]

Product attributes, consumer benefits and public approval of genetically modified foods

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 5 2003
Ferdaus Hossain
Abstract The use of biotechnology in food production has generated considerable debate involving the benefits and risks associated with its use. Consumer acceptance of genetically modified foods is a critical factor that will affect the future of this technology. Using data from a national survey, this study examines how public acceptance of food biotechnology is related to consumers' socioeconomic and value attributes as well as the benefits associated with the use of this technology. Empirical results suggest that consumer acceptance of food biotechnology increases considerably when the use of this technology brings tangible benefits for the public. Consumers with different socioeconomic and demographic attributes have diverging views of food biotechnology only when its use brings specific benefits to them. When the use of genetic technology confers no additional benefit, public attitudes towards genetically modified foods are driven primarily by their scientific knowledge, views of scientists and corporations associated with biotechnology as well as public trust and confidence in government. [source]

The Political Fallout of Taking a Stand: The President, Congress, and the Schiavo Case

PRESIDENTIAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2007
DONALD P. HAIDER-MARKEL
Federal government involvement in the case of terminally ill Terri Schiavo provides an interesting opportunity to explore the potential impact of specific institutional actions on public approval of those institutions. We analyze national survey data from the period of federal intervention and a poll conducted several months later. Our analyses, which account for time and exposure to political news, suggest that presidential and congressional actions in the case were associated with a decline in approval for the president and congressional leaders. Thus, the president and Congress can pay a political price when they take high-profile actions a significant majority of the public opposes. [source]