Do People Need Foreign Enemies

American Leaders' Beliefs after the Soviet Demise

Dados Bibliográficos

ID6283642
AutoresShoon Murray, Shoon Kathleen Murray, Jason Meyers (School of International Service, American University), Jason L Meyers (American University)
Ano1999
Volume43
Fascículo5
Páginas555-569
Data de publicação1999-10-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0022002799043005001
OpenAlexW2149328581
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas4
Referências citadas28

The authors use the collapse of the Soviet Union to test the hypothesis that some people are psychologically predisposed to “need enemies.” The findings from the 1988-1992 Leadership Opinion Project (LOP) panel data show that those respondents who had been highly suspicious of Soviet motives before the end of the cold war are more likely to view other countries with suspicion and to perceive the international environment as dangerous after the Soviet collapse. There is no evidence that people have actually transferred old fears about the Soviet Union onto a replacement enemy. China is the country most frequently named as the United States' main adversary after the cold war, making it the most likely object for the transference of hostility. Yet, even the most ardently anti-Soviet respondents do not exhibit greater fear or animosity toward China after they have lost their old enemy

Adversary · China · Cold war · Computer security · Development economics · Economics · Foreign policy · Hostility · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Resistance (ecology · Sociology · Soviet union · World War II · Economic Sanctions and International Relations · Law · Nuclear Issues and Defense · Psychology · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence