The road to war: Manufacturing public opinion in support of U.S. foreign policy goals

Master's Thesis , 2004 , 163 Pages , Grade: Distinction

Sociology - Politics, Majorities, Minorities

The purpose of this thesis is to discover the extent to which governments possess the capacity to influence public opinion. It argues that the United States government initiated and directed a social control campaign during both the 1991 and 2003 wars with Iraq in order to mobilize public opinion in support of their foreign policy objectives. To this end, the United States government, in conjunction with powerful interest groups, is seen to possess the capacity to influence the content of the mass media in order to disseminate and promote justifications for war that contain emotion-provoking elements. During both wars, the justifications presented to the American public produced a negative emotional response to Saddam Hussein and in the process created a foreign threat that appeared to be immediate. It is concluded that these social control campaigns restricted the American public's access to reliable information, thereby obstructing their ability to participate in their nation's political process.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER TWO: THE CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL CONTROL
• Views of the Human Condition
• Methods of Social Control: Physical vs. Ideological Control
• Psychological and Political Perspectives of Social Control
• Psychological Accounts
• Political Science Accounts
• Sociological Accounts: The Historical Evolution of Social Control
• Marx
• Ross
• Sumner
• de Tocqueville and Park
• Durkheim, Mead, and Freud
• Cooley
• Dewey
• Parsons and LaPiere
• Baldus
• Where Does this Historical Evolution Leave the Concept of Social Control?
• Theoretical and Methodological Issues
• Theoretical Issues: Conceptual Problems
• Methodological Issues: Naturalistic vs. Normative Traditions
• Concepts Closely Linked with Social Control
• Power
• Ideology
• Hegemony
• Language
• Summary
• CHAPTER THREE : CONSTRUCTING A FRAMEWORK
• Describing the Framework
• Defining the Variables that Operate in this Framework
• The Relationship between the Government and Interest Groups
• The Role of Public Opinion in the Foreign Policymaking Process
• Theoretical Approaches to the Relationship between Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
• Factors Impacting the Role of Public Opinion in the Foreign Policymaking Process
• Public Opinion Research
• Public Opinion Formation and the Role of the Mass Media
• Organizing Information in the Process of Forming Opinions
• Information, Attitudes, and, Opinions
• Sources of Influence on Information Gathering and Attitude Formation
• Changing Public Opinion via the Mass Media
• The Capacity for the Government and Interest Groups to Influence the Content of the Mass Media
• Agenda-Setting Function of the Mass Media
• The Use of Language as a Tool of Persuasion
• Limits to Press Freedom: The Implementation of Laws
• Limits to Press Freedom: Consolidation of Ownership
• Limits to Press Freedom: Economic and Political Restraints
• Objectivity: An Impediment to the Free Flow of Information?
• Summary
• CHAPTER FOUR: TWO CASE STUDIES: THE BABY INCUBATOR STORY AND THE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION STORY
• CASE I: THE BABY INCUBATOR STORY
• Context of 1991 War with Iraq
• Hussein's Violations of Human Rights
• Background to Kuwait
• The Gulf War
• The Baby Incubator Story: How the US Sold War with Iraq to the American Public
• The Proliferation of the Baby Incubator Story in the American Mass Media
• The Development of Public Opinion Leading up to War with Iraq
• The Baby Incubator Story is Exposed
• Was the Baby Incubator Story Successful in Garnering Support for War?
• CASE II: THE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION STORY
• September 11th and Bush's War on Terror
• Target #1 in the War on Terror: Afghanistan
• Target #2 in the War on Terror: Iraq
• The Weapons of Mass Destruction Story: How the US Sold War with Iraq to the American Public
• Proliferation of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Story in the American Media
• The Development of Public Opinion Leading up to War with Iraq
• The Weapons of Mass Destruction Story is Exposed
• Was the Weapons of Mass Destruction Story Successful in Garnering Support for War?
• Summary

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis investigates the capacity of governments to influence public opinion, arguing that the US government orchestrated campaigns to mobilize public support for its foreign policy objectives during the 1991 and 2003 wars with Iraq.
• The role of social control in shaping public opinion
• The influence of the media on public perception
• The relationship between the government, interest groups, and public opinion
• The use of emotional appeals and propaganda in justifying war
• The impact of misinformation and restricted information access on public participation in political processes

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Chapter One introduces the topic of the thesis, outlining the central argument regarding the influence of the US government on public opinion during the wars with Iraq. It emphasizes the need to examine the methods used to manipulate public opinion and the implications for democratic processes.
• Chapter Two provides a comprehensive overview of the concept of social control, tracing its historical development from classical thinkers like Hobbes and Rousseau to modern sociologists. It explores different perspectives on social control, including psychological, political, and sociological accounts, while analyzing the role of power, ideology, and hegemony in shaping social structures and behaviors.
• Chapter Three focuses on constructing a framework to analyze the influence of the US government on public opinion, considering the interplay of factors like government-interest group relations, the role of public opinion in foreign policymaking, and the impact of the media on public perception. It examines the process of public opinion formation, including the role of information, attitudes, and the manipulation of language as a persuasive tool.
• Chapter Four presents two case studies: the baby incubator story and the weapons of mass destruction story. These cases illustrate the strategies employed by the US government to manipulate public opinion and garner support for its foreign policy goals during the wars with Iraq. The chapter analyzes the development of public opinion, the role of the media in disseminating information, and the impact of misinformation on public perception.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This thesis focuses on the complex relationship between social control, public opinion, and foreign policy. It investigates the impact of government-driven campaigns to influence public opinion, exploring the role of mass media, ideology, power, and hegemony in shaping public perception and behavior in the context of war. Key concepts include: social control, public opinion, foreign policy, mass media, ideology, power, hegemony, democracy, war, military action, United States, Iraq, Saddam Hussein, weapons of mass destruction, baby incubator story, Nayirah.

• College: The University of Western Ontario (Department of Sociology)
• Grade: Distinction
• Author: B.A., M.A. Rena Kim Bivens (Author)
• Publication Year: 2004
• Pages: 163
• Catalog Number: V85765
• ISBN (eBook): 9783638900669
• ISBN (Book): 9783640179312
• Language: English
• Tags: Manufacturing