Agreement on which democratic regime types are prone to use diversionary force has yet to
materialize in the embryonic empirical literature on the subject. Nor has consensus emerged …

A democratic leader, anticipating a “rally 'round the flag effect,” may have an incentive to
divert attention from domestic economic problems by becoming involved in military conflict …

Previous research has shown that foreign policy crises can cause a 'rally'round the
flag'effect, boosting citizens' approval of their leaders. While scholars agree on the effect's …

The “rally'round the flag” effect—a short-term boost in a political leader's popularity during an
interstate political dispute—was first proposed by more than half a century ago. However …

This article examines the effectiveness of public statements of resolve in international
conflict. Several prominent theories, including domestic audience cost theory and theories …

How do people hold elected officials accountable for expected economic conditions in a
system of government in which jurisdiction and responsibility are divided such as they are in …

What public pressures do leaders face in international disputes? Leaders often denounce
foreign actions as provocations, triggering public anger and demands for restitution. Rather …

Conventional wisdom holds that large margins of electoral victory contribute to presidential
power. How does this variation in power impact US foreign policy? I argue here that …

This article examines the influence of religion on conflict in the Middle East. It develops a
more refined approach to studying the effects of religion by examining intra-Islamic …

We do not yet have strong evidence that the rally effect motivates domestically vulnerable
leaders to become engaged in international conflict. We draw upon mechanism design to …