TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - Rallying around the president: when and why do Americans close ranks behind their presidents during international crisis and war?
JO  - Social science history
A1  - Feinstein, Yuval
SP  - 305
EP  - 338
VL  - 40
IS  - 2
N2  - Many studies have reported that US presidents often become more popular at the onset of wars and other security crises. Research on this "rally-round-the-flag" phenomenon has focused on either rational calculation of success, chances of military actions, popular perceptions of security threats, or the role of opinion leaders. This paper proposes a new approach: I argue that challenges to the symbolic status of the nation vis-à-vis other nations drive rally periods. This study examines the rally-round-the-flag phenomenon from a comparative historical perspective, using a new database of war events and security crises from 1950-2006. The analysis reveals that two types of status challenges result in nationalist rally reactions: first, the public has rallied behind presidents when wars and security crises were viewed as an opportunity for the United States to reclaim its previously damaged national honor; and second, rallies have emerged when the president claimed the mantle of "leader of the free world" in an internationally authorized coalition attack on a foreign country.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0145-5532
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -