Ayman Nada

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between public opinion and American foreign policy towards Iraq since August 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait and the subsequent US and coalition war to force an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait, until December 2011, when the American troops left Iraq. Specifically, this study attempts to provide answers to how much congruence there was between public opinion and American foreign policy in Iraq, and what factors and variables affected this relationship. To answer these questions this study uses secondary analysis as a major method and trend analysis as a minor method. This study analyzed a sample, obtained from the Archive of Roper Public Opinion Research Center at the University of Connecticut, of the most frequent questions about Iraq (14777 questions) and compared public attitudes towards American policies with the resulting policies. Results show that public opinion was not a decisive factor or a significant variable in determining the American Foreign Policy in Iraq. On the contrary, public opinion in most cases followed the position of the administration; partisan loyalty and the process of policy making have little influence on determining the direction of this relationship.

Department

Political Science Department

Degree Name

MA in Political Science

Graduation Date

6-1-2012

Submission Date

May 2012

First Advisor

Fishere, Ezzedine Choukri

Extent

NA

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Library of Congress Subject Heading 1

Persian Gulf War, 1991 -- Foreign public opinion, American.

Library of Congress Subject Heading 2

Persian Gulf War, 1991 -- Public opinion.

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Not necessary for this item

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