How civilian casualty information shapes support for US involvement in an ally country’s war effort

Alon P. Kraitzman (alon.kraitzman@appc.upenn.edu), Tom W. Etienne (tom.etienne@asc.upenn.edu) and Dolores Albarracin (dalba@upenn.edu)
Additional contact information
Alon P. Kraitzman: University of Pennsylvania
Tom W. Etienne: University of Pennsylvania
Dolores Albarracin: University of Pennsylvania

Palgrave Communications, 2025, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract War is often described as “heart-wrenching,” but how do portrayals of conflict influence public support for US involvement when it is not directly engaged? This paper examines how information about civilian casualties and infrastructural damage, commonly found in media coverage, shapes public opinion on whether the US should provide military, diplomatic, and economic aid to foreign nations. Using a longitudinal survey of a probability sample of Americans and four experiments (three preregistered and two with nationally representative samples), we analyze both the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia and hypothetical conflicts involving a US ally and a US adversary. Findings indicate that information about civilian harm significantly increases public support for US involvement, with empathy mediating this effect-but only when the casualties are civilians from an ally, not an adversary, country. The theoretical and applied implications of these important and timely findings are discussed.

Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-024-04191-y Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-024-04191-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/palcomms/about

DOI: 10.1057/s41599-024-04191-y

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Palgrave Communications from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla (sonal.shukla@springer.com) and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (indexing@springernature.com).