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Who Influences U.S. Foreign Policy?

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  • JACOBS, LAWRENCE R.
  • PAGE, BENJAMIN I.

Abstract

Research in international relations has identified a variety of actors who appear to influence U.S. foreign policy, including experts and “epistemic communities,” organized interests (especially business and labor), and ordinary citizens or “public opinion.” This research, however, has often focused on a single factor at a time, rather than systematically testing the relative importance of alternative possible influences. Using extensive survey data gathered over three decades we conduct a comparative test, attempting to account for the expressed foreign policy preferences of policy makers by means of the preferences of the general public and those of several distinct sets of elites. The results of cross-sectional and time-lagged analyses suggest that U.S. foreign policy is most heavily and consistently influenced by internationally oriented business leaders, followed by experts (who, however, may themselves be influenced by business). Labor appears to have significant but smaller impacts. The general public seems to have considerably less effect, except under particular conditions. These results generally hold over several different analytical models (including two-observation time series) and different clusters of issues (economic, military, and diplomatic), with some variations across different institutional settings (the U.S. House, Senate, and executive branch).

Suggested Citation

  • Jacobs, Lawrence R. & Page, Benjamin I., 2005. "Who Influences U.S. Foreign Policy?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 99(1), pages 107-123, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:99:y:2005:i:01:p:107-123_05
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    Cited by:

    1. Jacob S. Hacker & Paul Pierson, 2010. "Winner-Take-All Politics: Public Policy, Political Organization, and the Precipitous Rise of Top Incomes in the United States," Politics & Society, , vol. 38(2), pages 152-204, June.
    2. Plouffe, Michael, 2024. "The Public and the Assembly: Foreign Public Opinion and Voting in the UNGA," OSF Preprints pu2yv, Center for Open Science.
    3. David H. Bearce & Brandy J. Jolliff Scott, 2019. "Popular non-support for international organizations: How extensive and what does this represent?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 187-216, June.
    4. Jeremy Horpedahl, 2019. "Do the poor want to be regulated? Public opinion surveys on regulation in the United States, 1981–2002," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 27-42, July.
    5. Elsässer, Lea & Schäfer, Armin, 2016. "Group representation for the working class? Opinion differences among occupational groups in Germany," MPIfG Discussion Paper 16/3, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    6. Patalakh Artem, 2016. "Assessment of Soft Power Strategies: Towards an Aggregative Analytical Model for Country-Focused Case Study Research," Croatian International Relations Review, Sciendo, vol. 22(76), pages 85-112, October.
    7. Elsässer, Lea & Hense, Svenja & Schäfer, Armin, 2018. "Government of the people, by the elite, for the rich: Unequal responsiveness in an unlikely case," MPIfG Discussion Paper 18/5, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    8. Bethke, Felix S., 2016. "Cultural Bias in the Perception of Foreign-Policy Events," Global Cooperation Research Papers 14, University of Duisburg-Essen, Käte Hamburger Kolleg / Centre for Global Cooperation Research (KHK/GCR21).
    9. Benjamin Goldsmith & Yusaku Horiuchi, 2011. "In Search of Soft Power: Does Foreign Public Opinion Matter for U.S. Foreign Policy," Crawford School Research Papers 1108, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    10. Christopher A. Simon & Michael C. Moltz, 2019. "Immigrant Citizens and Racial Resentment in International Policy Perspective: The Role of Nativity and Racial Resentment in Shaping Support for US Foreign Assistance Expenditure, 2002–2016," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 62(1), pages 186-195, December.
    11. Asteris Huliaras & Sotiris Petropoulos, 2014. "Shipowners, ports and diplomats: the political economy of Greece’s relations with China," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 215-230, September.

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