Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-5kfdg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-08-28T03:02:43.627Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Casualties and Public Support for Military Conflict with North Korea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 July 2018

Timothy S. Rich
Timothy S. Rich*
Affiliation:
Western Kentucky University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

What explains the American public’s support for military conflict with North Korea? Despite increased rhetoric, few analyses address American public opinion or whether priming the public to consider casualties influences their perceptions. The results of an experimental survey design suggest that mentioning the human cost—even without explicit references to American casualties—reduces support for American military action against North Korea but not broader perceptions of North Korea.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 52 , Issue 1 , January 2019 , pp. 25 - 30
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Albert, Eleanor. 2018. “North Korea’s Military Capabilities.” Council on Foreign Relations, January 3. Available at www.cfr.org/backgrounder/north-koreas-military-capabilities.Google Scholar
Berinsky, Adam J., and Druckman, James N.. 2007. “The Polls-Review: Public Opinion Research and Support for the Iraq War.” Public Opinion Quarterly 71 (1): 126–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crawford, Kerry F., Lawrence, Eric D., and Lebovic, James H.. 2017. “Aversion, Acceptance, or Apprehension? The Effects of Gender on US Public Opinion Concerning US-Inflicted Civilian Casualties.” Journal of Security Studies 2 (2): 150–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daniels, Jeff. 2017. “Pentagon Scenario of a New Korean War Estimates 20,000 Deaths Daily in South Korea, Retired US General Says.” CNBC, September 25. Available at www.cnbc.com/2017/09/25/korean-war-simulation-by-dod-estimates-20000-deaths-daily-in-south.html.Google Scholar
Druckman, James N. 2001. “The Implications of Framing Effects for Citizen Competence.” Political Behavior 23 (3): 225–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eichenberg, Richard C. 2005. “Victory Has Many Friends: US Public Opinion and the Use of Military Force, 1981–2005.” International Security 30 (1): 140–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fearon, James D. 2017. “The Big Problem with North Koreans Isn’t That We Can’t Trust Them. It’s That They Can’t Trust Us.” Monkey Cage/Washington Post, August 16. Available at www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/08/16/the-big-problem-with-north-korea-isnt-that-we-cant-trust-them-its-that-they-cant-trust-us/?utm_term=.eed49f46a4a2.Google Scholar
Friedhoff, Karl, and Smeltz, Dina. 2017. “North Korea Now Seen as a Top Threat Facing the United States.” Chicago Council on Global Affairs, August 7. Available at www.thechicagocouncil.org/publication/north-korea-now-seen-top-threat-facing-united-states.Google Scholar
Friedman, Uri. 2017. “North Korea: The Military Options.” The Atlantic, May 17. Available at www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/05/war-north-korea-options/524049.Google Scholar
Gady, Franz-Stefan. 2017. “What Would the Second Korean War Look Like?” The Diplomat, April 19. Available at https://thediplomat.com/2017/04/what-would-the-second-korean-war-look-like.Google Scholar
Gartner, Scott Sigmund. 2008. “The Multiple Effects of Casualties on Public Support for War: An Experimental Approach.” American Political Science Review 102 (1): 95–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gartner, Scott Sigmund, and Segura, Gary M.. 1998. “War, Casualties, and Public Opinion.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 42 (3): 278–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gartner, Scott Sigmund, and Segura, Gary M.. 2000. “Race, Casualties, and Opinion in the Vietnam War.” Journal of Politics 62 (1): 115–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gelpi, Christopher. 2010. “Performing the Cue? The Formation of Public Opinion toward War.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 54 (1): 88–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gelpi, Christopher, Feaver, Peter D., and Reifler, Jason. 2006. “Success Matters: Casualty Sensitivity and the War in Iraq.” International Security 30 (3): 7–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iyengar, Shanto, Peters, Mark D., and Kinder, Donald R.. 1982. “Experimental Demonstration of the ‘Not-So-Minimal’ Consequences of Television News Programs.” American Political Science Review 76: 848–58.Google Scholar
Iyengar, Shanto, and Simon, Adam. 1993. “News Coverage of the Gulf Crisis and Public Opinion: A Study of Agenda-Setting, Priming, and Framing.” Communication Research 20 (3): 365–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jentleson, Bruce W., and Britton, Rebecca L.. 1998. “Post–Cold War American Public Opinion on the Use of Military Force.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 42 (4): 395–417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lorell, Mark A., Kelley, Charles T. Jr., and Hensler, Deborah R.. 1985. Casualties, Public Opinion, and Presidential Policy during the Vietnam War. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation.Google Scholar
McInnis, Kathleen, Feickert, Andrew, Manyin, Mark E., Hildreth, Steven A., Nikitin, Mary Beth D., and Chanlett-Avery, Emma. 2017. “The North Korean Nuclear Challenge: Military Options and Issues for Congress.” Congressional Research Service, October 27.Google Scholar
Poushter, Jacob. 2017. “Americans Hold Very Negative Views of North Korea amid Nuclear Tensions.” Pew Research Center, April 5. Available at www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/05/americans-hold-very-negative-views-of-north-korea-amid-nuclear-tensions.Google Scholar
Reuters. 1990. “Potential War Casualties Put at 100,000: Gulf Crisis: Fewer US Troops Would Be Killed or Wounded Than Iraqi Soldiers, Military Experts Predict. LA Times, September 5. Available at http://articles.latimes.com/1990-09-05/news/mn-776_1_military-experts.Google Scholar
Reuters. 2017. “US Majority Backs Military Action vs. North Korea: Gallup Poll.” September 15. Available at www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-usa-poll/u-s-majority-backs-military-action-vs-north-korea-gallup-poll-idUSKCN1BQ1LP.Google Scholar
Rich, Timothy S. 2014. “Propaganda with Purpose: Uncovering Patterns in North Korean Nuclear Coverage, 1997–2012.” International Relations of the Asia-Pacific 14 (3): 427–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sagan, Scott D., and Valentino, Benjamin A.. 2017. “Revisiting Hiroshima in Iran: What Americans Really Think about Using Nuclear Weapons and Killing Noncombatants.” International Security 42 (1): 41–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheufele, Dietream A. 2000. “Agenda-Setting, Priming, and Framing Revisited: Another Look at Cognitive Effects of Political Communication.” Mass Communication and Society 3 (2–3): 297–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Searles, Kathleen, and Ryan, John Barry. 2015. “Researchers Are Rushing to Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Should They?” The Monkey Cage, May 4. Available at www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/05/04/researchers-are-rushing-to-amazons-mechanical-turk-should-they/?utm_term=.2aa1e6a38c9a.Google Scholar
Talmazan, Yuliya, and Associated Press. 2017. “Ground Invasion Only Way to Destroy North Korea’s Nuclear Arsenal, Pentagon Says.” NBC News, November 5. Available at www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ground-invasion-only-way-destroy-north-korea-s-nuclear-arsenal-n817651.Google Scholar
Woodward, Bob. 2002. The Commanders: The Pentagon and the First Gulf War, 1989–1991. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar