Suchergebnisse

Americans express more confidence in their military than any other institution. The components and causes of confidence have been little studied, especially as a partisan phenomenon. This study assesses trends in how partisanship and ideology affect confidence in the military. Multivariate analysis of General Social Survey and Harris Poll data shows that while confidence has increased for all demographic and political subgroups, partisanship and ideology play larger roles than commonly recognized. Democrats and Republicans are more confident than independents, but Republican confidence increased sharply over the last 20 years. Party ID is now the best predictor of one's confidence in the military. Conservative ideology has little effect, but liberalism reduces confidence, splitting Democrats. The pattern is not only "Republicanization," however; partisans on both sides are more confident when their party holds the White House.

Americans express more confidence in their military than any other institution. The components and causes of confidence have been little studied, especially as a partisan phenomenon. This study assesses trends in how partisanship and ideology affect confidence in the military. Multivariate analysis of General Social Survey and Harris Poll data shows that while confidence has increased for all demographic and political subgroups, partisanship and ideology play larger roles than commonly recognized. Democrats and Republicans are more confident than independents, but Republican confidence increased sharply over the last 20 years. Party ID is now the best predictor of one's confidence in the military. Conservative ideology has little effect, but liberalism reduces confidence, splitting Democrats. The pattern is not only "Republicanization," however; partisans on both sides are more confident when their party holds the White House.

Analyzes the appropriate way to measure the power of the US Navy's combat potential, offering reasons why tonnage & ship numbers are inadequate measures of naval power. Changes in fleet sizes since the end of WWII & during the Cold War (US vs USSR) are assessed, using size & weight as a measure. Because the US Navy has to prepare for missions other than war, tonnage & ship numbers do not count as much as ship size, endurance, & habitability. The way to justify the huge scale of the US Navy is to think of its desire to project power globally. Because no one can afford to match the US Navy on traditional naval dimensions of tonnage or naval combat power, the appropriate measure may be national power. 4 Tables, 2 Figures. J. Moses