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Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until May 05, 2029

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The Orderer's Dilemma: How Ideological Foreign Policy Justifications Galvanize Domestic Publics but Promote Conflict

Goodhart, Andrew Thomas
http://orcid.org/0009-0004-3163-4003
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1712850772795176

Abstract Details

2024, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Political Science.
This dissertation argues that when leaders use ideological foreign policy rhetoric, it makes war more likely. The U.S. - led international order faces challenges from both Russia and China, and U.S. leaders are using ideological rhetoric to mobilize a response. I explain why such rhetoric is attractive to leaders and how it also makes the United States more likely to get pulled into wars it might otherwise avoid. Leaders use this kind of rhetoric because it allows them to explain to the public why they are being asked to endure the taxes, military service, casualties, and social disruption associated with efforts to shape the international order. Ideological appeals (e.g., “fighting for freedom and democracy”) tap into deeply held beliefs and identities, encouraging the public to bear the burdens of an active foreign policy. Unfortunately, this rhetoric also raises the stakes of international disputes, limits U.S. diplomatic flexibility, and creates a commitment to intervene in situations that implicate the country’s ideology more than its material interests. Using an original dataset of rhetoric by leading states (1816-2014), I show that justifying one’s international leadership in ideological terms is associated with fighting more wars. By contrast, a framing that emphasizes hegemonic goods provision has less mobilizational power but also produces less international conflict. This is the orderer’s dilemma. The policies that help a state motivate its domestic population exacerbate tensions and make war more likely.
Richard Herrmann (Committee Chair)
Jennifer Mitzen (Committee Member)
Randall Schweller (Committee Member)
215 p.
International Relations; Political Science
International order; hegemony; empire; legitimacy; strategy; security; rhetoric

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Goodhart, A. T. (2024). The Orderer's Dilemma: How Ideological Foreign Policy Justifications Galvanize Domestic Publics but Promote Conflict [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1712850772795176

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Goodhart, Andrew. The Orderer's Dilemma: How Ideological Foreign Policy Justifications Galvanize Domestic Publics but Promote Conflict. 2024. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1712850772795176.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Goodhart, Andrew. "The Orderer's Dilemma: How Ideological Foreign Policy Justifications Galvanize Domestic Publics but Promote Conflict." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1712850772795176

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1712850772795176
© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.