Helene Dieck & Kenneth A. Loparo 
The Influence of Public Opinion on Post-Cold War U.S. Military Interventions 

Based on interviews with political decision-makers involved in post-Cold War case studies, this research reassesses the prevalent conclusion in the academic literature, according to which American public opinion has limited influence on military interventions, by including the level of commitment in the study of the decision-making process.

Table of Content

Introduction PART I: THE INFLUENCE OF PUBLIC OPINION ON MILITARY INTERVENTIONS: CONCEPTS AND THEORETICAL APPROACHES 1. The Influence Of Public Opinion On Military Interventions: Theoretical Approaches And Their Limits 2. Including Considerations With Military Strategy To The Study Of The Influence Of Public Opinion PART II: PUBLIC OPINION AND THE INITIAL DECISION TO USE FORCE 3. Personal Preferences 4. The Limited Intervention In Rwanda 5. The Intervention In Bosnia 6. The Intervention In Haiti 7. The Intervention In Afghanistan In 2001 8. The Intervention In Iraq In 2003 PART II CONCLUSION PART III: CHANGING STRATEGY FOR MILITARY OPERATIONS: THE PRESIDENT’S ROOM FOR MANEUVER 9. The Iraq Surge 10. The Afghan Surge PART III CONCLUSION 11. Conclusion Annex: Conducting Interviews Bibliography Interviews

About the author

Helene Dieck received her Ph D from Sciences Po, Paris, France. She was previously responsible for elaborating military doctrine at the French Ministry of Defense and served as a visiting researcher at the RAND Corporation. She currently works as a migrant welfare specialist at Qatar Foundation.