Citation

Uscinski J, Rocca MS, Sanchez GR, Brenden M. PS Polit. Sci. Polit. 2009; 42(3): 489-496.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1017/S1049096509090799

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

As of January 2008, more than 400,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million people have been displaced in the regions of Darfur and Chad. This event has not gone unnoticed in the United States, as the 109th United States Congress (2005-2006) considered several measures in the House of Representatives to provide funding and peacekeeping forces to quell the violence in Darfur. The goal of this article is to explain individual members' of Congress (MCs') support for Darfur legislation by examining the influence of their individual, district, and institutional characteristics. The Darfur case provides the opportunity to analyze factors critical to congressional behavior in a context where there is reason to expect an MC's usual set of incentives--e.g., reelection and adherence to party--to be less prominent. In all, we contribute to congressional and foreign policy research by parceling out the determinants of congressional support for foreign policy in comparison to domestic policy.

Language: en