Media Use, Anti-Americanism and International Support for the Iraq War

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of prewar news coverage on international support for President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003. The study is based on a survey conducted one week prior to the start of the Iraq War among 1787 university students from six countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The findings indicate that exposure to prewar news coverage was associated with more positive attitudes toward Iraq and higher levels of fear related to the possible consequences of a war. Stronger international support for a US invasion correlated with more positive attitudes toward Iraq, less fear about a possible war and lower levels of anti-Americanism.

Examining the effects of political information and intervention stages on public support for military interventions: A panel experiment

“…In fact, comparing the results of his national-level experiment on public support for war with those he conducted in laboratory conditions with students, Gartner (2008) does not find a significant difference between the reactions of students and older adults. Even if the actual link among levels of political information, intervention stages and support for military intervention might differ in strength and degree in the general population, I believe that the basic cognitive and psychological processes that lead to the proposed outcomes should essentially be similar among all types of people (see Willnat et al, 2006).…”

International journalists’ expectations from the US media coverage of Hurricane Katrina

“…World opinions about the United States are multidimensional and conflicting. In a survey among university students from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, most rejected American ideas about democracy and disliked the spread of American customs around the world, but liked American media products and the country's scientific and technological advances (Willnat et al, 2006).…”