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The Persian Gulf War's impact on Americans' political information

Political Behavior volume 16, pages 179–201 (1994)Cite this article

Abstract

Does war increase Americans' normally low levels of political information? Data from the Center for Political Studies' Political Consequences of War Study, which plumbed Americans' information about the Persian Gulf War, suggest it does, albeit slightly. Criticisms of mass public competence to influence foreign policy lose some of their sting, but there remain grounds for concern about the quality of public opinion. Old knowledge aids in the acquisition of new, and most people were too uninformed to benefit much from intensive media coverage of the Gulf crisis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science and Center for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, USA

    Stephen Earl Bennett

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  1. Stephen Earl Bennett
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Additional information

This is a revision of a paper prepared for the American National Election Studies' Conference, The Political Consequences of War, Washington, DC, February 28, 1992. I am indebted to the following individuals for advice and assistance: Linda L. M. Bennett, Richard Flickinger, and Richard Ortquist of Wittenberg University, Dan Beaver, Bonnie Fisher, Richard Harknett, Mark Carrozza, and the late Roger Stuebing of the University of Cincinnati, Ole Holsti of Duke University, and Richard Brody of Stanford University.

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Bennett, S.E. The Persian Gulf War's impact on Americans' political information. Polit Behav 16, 179–201 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01498876

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01498876

Keywords

  • Public Opinion
  • Foreign Policy
  • Media Coverage
  • Political Consequence
  • Political Psychology