Although presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has called the NATO alliance “obsolete,” two-thirds of Americans in the June 10-27 Chicago Council Survey say that NATO is still essential to US security. This includes a majority of Republicans (57%) as well as those who say they are planning to vote […] Read more »
Americans Continue to Express Highest Confidence in Military
While Americans’ faith in many U.S. institutions has fallen from the levels of previous decades, the public’s confidence in the military has remained consistently high. The average confidence level across all 14 institutions tested in 2004 was 43%, compared with 32% this year. In contrast, the 73% confidence rating that […] Read more »
Republicans, Democrats Interpret Orlando Incident Differently
Republicans and Democrats have starkly different interpretations of what the recent mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub represents. While 79% of Republicans view it primarily as an act of Islamic terrorism, the majority of Democrats, 60%, see it as an act of domestic gun violence. Given Republicans’ more lopsided views, […] Read more »
Confidence in Institutions Stays Low
Americans’ confidence in the nation’s major institutions continues to lag below historical averages, with two institutions — newspapers and organized religion — dropping to record lows this year. The overall average of Americans expressing “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in 14 institutions is below 33% for […] Read more »
How the American military economy promotes bipartisan support for large defense budgets
… In my research, I argue that partisan divergences on the magnitude of security threats and of the virtues of flexing more American military muscle have deep roots in socioeconomic transformations that have disproportionately affected core Republican voters. Since World War II, government investments in military technology have not only […] Read more »
Poll finds Americans see fight against ISIS going better
Americans’ perceptions of the U.S. military’s fight against ISIS are becoming more positive, though a majority still view the effort as going badly, according to a new CNN/ORC Poll. Still, more Americans are now saying they think the military effort is going well, and fewer feel ground troops are necessary. […] Read more »