Public Opinion, the War in Iraq, and Presidential Accountability

Bibliographic Data

ID6285889
AuthorsErik Voeten (0000-0002-1002-3770, Department of Political Science and International Affairs, The George Washington University), Paul R Brewer (0000-0002-1202-3280, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee)
Year2006
Volume50
Issue6
Pages809-830
Publication date2006-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0022002706291054
OpenAlexW2113511292
LanguageEN
Citations received57
References cited46

How do citizens hold their leader accountable during an ongoing war? The authors distinguish between two models of accountability—the “decision maker” and “managerial” models—and investigate their implications in the context of the current war in Iraq. They employ a novel measurement model and a database of survey marginals to estimate weekly time series of aggregate beliefs about various aspects of the war. Consistent with the “decision maker” model, they find that shifts in aggregate support for the war have a greater impact on presidential approval than do equivalent shifts in perceptions of war success or approval of the president’s handling of the war. Conversely, aggregate perceptions of success are more responsive to casualties and key events than are aggregate beliefs about the war’s merits. This suggests that the link from casualties and events to presidential approval is less direct than previously assumed

Accountability · Aggregate (composite · Aggregate data · Context (archaeology · Perception · Political science · Politics · Presidential system · Public opinion · Public relations · Spanish Civil War · Statistics · Survey data collection · World War II · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · History · Law · Media Influence and Politics · Psychology · Public Administration · Social and Intergroup Psychology

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