International law, military effectiveness, and public support for drone strikes
Abstract
Despite the increased emphasis on domestic politics in the study of international law, scholars remain divided about whether and how international law affects domestic institutions. Moreover, while public support is a core ingredient for sustainable, legitimate policies in a democracy, research at the individual level of analysis remains limited. Weighing in on these areas of study, we investigate the use of drone strikes for counterterrorism, a subject of considerable debate. Proponents in the government point to drones as both effective for disrupting terrorist networks and compatible with international law. Critics from groups such as international organizations (IOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) respond that attacks create more terrorists than they kill and violate legal commitments. The central question we ask in this article is whether these international legal criticisms impact public support for drone strikes, the centerpiece of US counterterrorism policy, or whether individuals are more persuaded by effectiveness-based arguments. Employing a survey experiment of a nationally representative sample of the United States, we find IO and NGO criticisms can shape public attitudes even around an important national security issue like drone strikes, but are most influential when messages center on legal critiques rather than matters of effectiveness. Our findings speak to fundamental questions about the domestic politics of international legal commitments, the role of IOs and NGOs in shaping political debates, and the durability of US counterterrorism policy.
Get full access to this article
View all access and purchase options for this article.
References
Amnesty International (2013) Will I be next? US drone strikes in Pakistan (https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ASA33/013/2013/en/).
Barabas Jason, Jerit Jennifer (2010) Are survey experiments externally valid? American Political Science Review 104(2): 226–242.
Baum Matthew A, Potter Philip BK (2008) The relationships between mass media, public opinion, and foreign policy: Toward a theoretical synthesis. Annual Review of Political Science 11(1): 39–65.
Berinsky Adam J (2009) In Time of War: Understanding American Public Opinion from World War II to Iraq. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Berinsky Adam J, Huber Gregory A, Lenz Gabriel S (2012) Evaluating online labor markets for experimental research: Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk. Political Analysis 20(3): 351–368.
Byman Daniel (2013) Why drones work. Foreign Affairs July/August (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/somalia/2013-06-11/why-drones-work).
Cardenas Sonia (2007) Conflict and Compliance: State Responses to International Human Rights Pressure. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Caroline Case (1838) The Caroline case (http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/br-1842d.asp).
Chapman Terrence L (2011) Securing Approval: Domestic Politics and Multilateral Authorization for War. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Chapman Terrence L, Reiter Dan (2004) The United Nations Security Council and the rally 'round the flag effect. Journal of Conflict Resolution 48(6): 886–909.
Chaudoin Stephen (2014) Promises or policies? An experimental analysis of international agreements and audience reactions. International Organization 68(1): 235–256.
Chilton Adam S (2015) The laws of war and public opinion: An experimental study. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics 171(1): 181–201.
Chilton Adam S, Tingley Dustin H (2013) Why the study of international law needs experiments. Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 52(1): 173–238.
Chilton Adam S, Versteeg Mila (2016) International law, constitutional law, and public support for torture. Research & Politics 3(1): 1–9.
Chong Dennis (2000) Rational Lives: Norms and Values in Politics and Society. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Chong Dennis, Druckman James N (2007) Framing theory. Annual Review of Political Science 10: 103–126.
Christopher Russell (2012) Imminence in justified targeted killing. In: Finkelstein Claire, Ohlin Jens D, Altman Andrew (eds) Targeted Killings: Law and Morality in an Asymmetrical World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 253–284.
Cooley Alexander, Ron James (2002) The NGO scramble: Organizational insecurity and the political economy of transnational action. International Security 27(1): 5–39.
Cortright David, Fairhurst Rachel, Wall Kristen (eds) (2015) Drones and the Future of Armed Conflict: Ethical, Legal, and Strategic Implications. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Dai Xinyuan (2007) International Institutions and National Policies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Davis David R, Murdie Amanda, Steinmetz Coty G (2012) ‘Makers and shapers’: Human rights INGOs and public opinion. Human Rights Quarterly 34(1): 199–224.
Drezner Daniel W (2008) The realist tradition in American public opinion. Perspectives on Politics 6(1): 51–70.
Druckman James N (2001) On the limits of framing effects: Who can frame? Journal of Politics 63(4): 1041–1066.
Edwards George C, Swenson Tami (1997) Who rallies? The anatomy of a rally event. Journal of Politics 59(1): 200–212.
Elkins Zachary, Ginsburg Tom, Simmons Beth (2013) Getting to rights: Treaty ratification, constitutional convergence, and human rights practice. Harvard Journal of International Law 54(1): 61–96.
Fair C Christine, Kaltenthaler Karl, Miller William J (2014) The drone war: Pakistani public opposition to American drone strikes in Pakistan. Political Science Quarterly 129(1): 1–33.
Favole Jared (2013) White House defends drone operations. Wall Street Journal 22 October.
Fearon James D (1998) Domestic politics, foreign policy, and theories of international relations. Annual Review of Political Science 1: 289–313.
Gaines Brian, Kuklinski James, Quirk Paul (2006) The logic of the survey experiment reexamined. Political Analysis 15(1): 1–20.
Gelpi Christopher, Feaver Peter D, Reifler Jason (2009) Paying the Human Costs of War: American Public Opinion and Casualties in Military Conflicts. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Gilens Martin (2005) Inequality and democratic responsiveness. Public Opinion Quarterly 69(5): 778–796.
Goldsmith Jack, Posner Eric (2005) The Limits of International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Grieco Joseph M, Gelpi Christopher, Reifler Jason, Feaver Peter D (2011) Let’s get a second opinion: International institutions and American public support for war. International Studies Quarterly 55(2): 563–583.
Gronke Paul, Rejali Darius, Drenguisa Dustin, Hicksa James, Millera Peter, Nakayama Bryan (2010) US public opinion on torture, 2001–2009. PS: Political Science & Politics 43(3): 437–444.
Guzman Andrew T (2008) How International Law Works: A Rational Choice Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hafner-Burton Emilie M (2008) Sticks and stones: Naming and shaming the human rights enforcement problem. International Organization 62(4): 689–716.
Holsti Ole R (2004) Public Opinion and American Foreign Policy. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Hopkins Nick (2013) Former NSA chief: Western intelligence agencies must be more transparent. Guardian 30 September (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/30/nsa-director-intelligence-public-support).
Human Rights Watch (2013) ‘Between a Drone and Al-Qaeda’: The civilian cost of US targeted killings in Yemen (https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/10/22/between-drone-and-al-qaeda/civilian-cost-us-targeted-killings-yemen).
Johnston Patrick, Sarbahi Anoop K (forthcoming) The impact of US drone strikes on terrorism in Pakistan. International Studies Quarterly. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqv004.
Keck Margaret, Sikkink Kathryn (1998) Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Kocher Matthew A, Kalyvas Stathis N, Pepinsky Thomas B (2011) Aerial bombing and counterinsurgency in the Vietnam War. American Journal of Political Science 55(2): 201–218.
Kreps Sarah E (2014) Flying under the radar: A study of public attitudes towards unmanned aerial vehicles. Research & Politics 1(1): DOI: 10.1177/2053168014536533.
Kreps Sarah E (2016) Drones: What Everyone Needs to Know. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kydd Andrew (2003) Which side are you on? Bias, credibility, and mediation. American Journal of Political Science 47(4): 597–611.
Lebovic James H, Voeten Erik (2009) The cost of shame: International organizations and foreign aid in the punishing of human rights violators. Journal of Peace Research 49(1): 79–97.
Lupu Noam (2013) Party brands and partisanship: Theory with evidence from a survey experiment in Argentina. American Journal of Political Science 57(1): 49–64.
McDermott Rose (2002) Experimental methods in political science. Annual Review of Political Science 5: 31–61.
Murdie Amanda, Bhasin Tavishi (2011) Aiding and abetting: Human rights INGOs and domestic protest. Journal of Conflict Resolution 55(2): 163–191.
O’Connell Mary E (2011) Remarks: The resort to drones under international law. Denver Journal of International Law 39(4): 585–600.
Ohlin Jens D (2012) Targeting co-belligerents. In: Finkelstein Claire, Ohlin Jens D, Altman Andrew (eds) Targeted Killings: Law and Morality in an Asymmetrical World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 60–89.
Ohlin Jens D (2015) The combatant’s privilege in asymmetric and covert conflicts. Yale Journal of International Law 40(2): 337–393.
Page Benjamin, Shapiro Robert (1983) Effects of public opinion on policy. American Political Science Review 77(1): 175–190.
Page Benjamin, Shapiro Robert, Dempsey Glenn (1987) What moves public opinion? American Political Science Review 81(1): 23–44.
Press Daryl, Sagan Scott, Valentino Benjamin (2013) Atomic aversion: Experimental evidence on taboos, traditions, and the non-use of nuclear weapons. American Political Science Review 107(1): 188–206.
Reiter Dan, Stam Allan C (2002) Democracies at War. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Reus-Smit Christian (2004) The politics of international law. In: Reus-Smit Christian (ed.) The Politics of International Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 14–44.
Shane Scott (2015) Drone strikes reveal uncomfortable truth: US is often uncertain who will die. New York Times 23 April (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/world/asia/drone-strikes-reveal-uncomfortable-truth-us-is-often-unsure-about-who-will-die.html).
Simmons Beth A (2009) Mobilizing for Human Rights: International Law in Domestic Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Simmons Beth A (2010) Treaty compliance and violation. Annual Review of Political Science 13: 272–296.
Singer Peter W (2013) Finally, Obama breaks his silence on drones. Los Angeles Times 23 May (http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/23/opinion/la-oe-0523-singer-obama-national-security-20130523).
Slaughter Anne-Marie (2000) A liberal theory of international law. Proceedings of the 94th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law: 240–248.
Slaughter Anne-Marie, Burke-White William (2006) The future of international law is domestic (or, the European way of law). Harvard International Law Journal 47(2): 327–352.
Spiderman Paul M, Bullock John G (2004) A consistency theory of public opinion and political choice: The hypothesis of menu dependence. In: Saris Willem, Spiderman Paul M (eds) Studies in Public Opinion. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 337–358.
Stanford Law School & NYU School of Law (2012) Living Under Drones: Death, Injury, and Trauma to Civilians from US Drone Practices in Pakistan (http://chrgj.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Living-Under-Drones.pdf).
Tannenwald Nina (1999) The nuclear taboo: The United States and the normative basis of nuclear non-use. International Organization 53(3): 433–468.
Tetlock Philip (2000) Coping with trade-offs: Psychological constraints and political implications. In: Lupia Arthur, McCubbins Mathew, Popkin Sam (eds) Elements of Reason: Cognition, Choice, and the Bounds of Rationality. New York: Cambridge University Press, 239–263.
Thompson Alexander (2006) Coercion through IOs: The Security Council and the logic of information transmission. International Organization 60(1): 1–34.
Tomz Michael (2008) Reputation and the effect of international law on preferences and beliefs (https://web.stanford.edu/∼tomz/working/Tomz-IntlLaw-2008-02-11a.pdf).
Tomz Michael, Weeks Jessica L (2013) Public opinion and the democratic peace. American Political Science Review 107(3): 849–865.
United Nations (2013) Drone attacks: UN rights experts express concern about the potential illegal use of armed drones. 25 October (http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13905).
Vreeland James R (2008) Political institutions and human rights: Why dictatorships enter into the United Nations Convention against Torture. International Organization 62(1): 65–101.
Wallace Geoffrey PR (2013) International law and public attitudes toward torture: An experimental study. International Organization 67(1): 105–140.
Walsh James I (2015) Precision weapons, civilian casualties, and support for the use of force. Political Psychology 36(5): 507–523.
Western Jon (2005) Selling Intervention and War: The Presidency, the Media, and the American Public. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
White House (2013) Remarks by the president at the National Defense University. 23 May (https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/23/remarks-president-national-defense-university).
Wooldridge Jeffrey M (2006) Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach. Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western.
Zaller John (1992) The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Zenko Micah, Kreps Sarah E (2014) Limiting Armed Drone Proliferation. New York: Council on Foreign Relations.
Biographies
SARAH KREPS, b. 1976, PhD in Government (Georgetown University, 2007); Associate Professor, Adjunct Professor of Law, Cornell University; most recent book: Drones: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2016).
GEOFFREY PR WALLACE, b. 1978, PhD in Government (Cornell University, 2010); Associate Professor, University of Washington; most recent book: Life and Death in Captivity: The Abuse of Prisoners during War (Cornell University Press, 2015).
Cite article
Cite article
Cite article
OR
Download to reference manager
If you have citation software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice
Information, rights and permissions
Information
Published In
Article first published online: September 25, 2016
Issue published: November 2016
Keywords
Authors
Metrics and citations
Metrics
Article usage*
Total views and downloads: 5711
*Article usage tracking started in December 2016
Altmetric
See the impact this article is making through the number of times it’s been read, and the Altmetric Score.
Learn more about the Altmetric Scores
Articles citing this one
Receive email alerts when this article is cited
Web of Science: 71 view articles Opens in new tab
Crossref: 0
-
Public Opinion and Drone Exports: Evidence from a Conjoint Experiment ...
-
No Entry in a Pandemic: Public Support for Border Closures
-
Bending the Automation Bias Curve: A Study of Human and AI-Based Decis...
-
Manipulating Public Beliefs about Alliance Compliance: A Survey Experi...
-
Whose critique matters? The effects of critic identity and audience on...
-
How the United States lost the “forever war”
-
Drones, Force and Law
-
Public preferences for international law compliance: Respecting legal ...
-
Treaty obligations and support for collective defence: Evidence from I...
-
Domestic accountability and non-compliance with international law: Evi...
-
Measuring law's normative force
-
Responding to Uncertainty: The Importance of Covertness in Support for...
-
Popular impact: Public opinion and planetary defense planning
-
Loyalty or Accountability? Public Attitudes to Holding Soldiers Accoun...
-
International rankings and public opinion: Compliance, dismissal, or b...
-
How foreign information campaigns shape US public pronouncements about...
-
Can drones coerce? The effects of remote aerial coercion in counterter...
-
Exploring the artificial intelligence “Trust paradox”: Evidence from a...
-
How membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization transforms pu...
-
Should we sell arms to human rights violators? What the public thinks
-
Conditional Assistance: Entrapment Concerns and Individual-Level Suppo...
-
Drone/UAV Design Development is Important in a Wide Range of Applicati...
-
Sanctions and target public opinion: Experimental evidence from Turkey
-
Inconstant Care: Public Attitudes Towards Force Protection and Civilia...
-
Public Opinion and Drone Exports: Evidence from a Conjoint Experiment ...
-
Experimental Studies on the Normative Force of Law
-
Battlefield Trust for Human-Machine Teaming: Evidence from the US Mili...
-
Strategies of Contestation: International Law, Domestic Audiences, and...
-
Mitigation of raindrop impact using the multi-functional surface micro...
-
Nun sag, wie hast du’s mit bewaffneten Drohnen? Die Haltung zu bewaffn...
-
Do Armed Drones Counter Terrorism, Or Are They Counterproductive? Evid...
-
Naming and shaming, government messaging, and backlash effects: Experi...
-
Attitudes and Action in International Refugee Policy: Evidence from Au...
-
Public Demand for Extraterritorial Environmental and Social Public Goo...
-
Migrant-Family Separation and Higher-Order Laws’ Diverging Normative F...
-
Elite-Public Gaps in Attitudes to Nuclear Weapons: New Evidence from a...
-
Is the Public Backlash against Globalization a Backlash against Legali...
-
Defense treaties increase domestic support for military action and cas...
-
Multilateralism and public support for drone strikes
-
Smart border patrol using drones and wireless charging system under bu...
-
Judicialization and Public Support for Compliance with International C...
-
A Review on Security Issues and Solutions of the Internet of Drones
-
Robot Obstacle Avoidance Based on Improved Artificial Potential Field ...
-
Military Alliances and Public Support for War
-
Breaking Bad? How Survey Experiments Prime Americans for War Crimes
-
Attitudes toward the Use of Force: Instrumental Imperatives, Moral Pri...
-
Seeing through the forest and the trees with drones
-
Public Tolerance of Retributive Violence against Insurgencies
-
United Nations endorsement and support for human rights: An experiment...
-
For better or worse: Shaming, faming, and human rights abuse
-
Defending the European court of human rights: Experimental evidence fr...
-
Presidential use of diversionary drone force and public support
-
Analyzing Mass Attitudes Toward the International Court of Justice
-
Bombing ISIS. Public Support and Public Dilemmas
-
International Law as Legal Obligations or Global Standards?
-
Migrant-Family Separation and the Diverging Normative Force of Interna...
-
The COVID-19 Pandemic, International Cooperation, and Populism
-
A Nationalist Backlash to International Refugee Law: Evidence from a S...
-
International commitments and domestic opinion: the effect of the Pari...
-
The Stopping Power of Norms: Saturation Bombing, Civilian Immunity, an...
-
Does the Noncombatant Immunity Norm Have Stopping Power? A ...
-
Life and Limb: New Estimates of Casualty Aversion in the United States
-
Shallow commitments may bite deep: domestic politics and flexibility i...
-
Do Emerging Military Technologies Matter for International Politics?
-
Predators and Peace: Explaining the Failure of the Pakistani Conflict ...
-
Weighing Lives in War: How National Identity Influences American Publi...
-
Support for Restricting Liberty for Safety: Evidence During the COVID-...
-
Do Self-Reporting Regimes Matter? Evidence from the Convention Against...
-
Human Rights versus National Interests: Shifting US Public Attitudes o...
-
Explaining incompleteness and conditionality in alliance agreements
-
Empirical Studies of Human Rights Law
-
Public and elite opinion on international human rights law: Completing...
-
REPUTATION AND COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW: EXPERIM...
-
Questions of life and death: (De)constructing human rights norms throu...
-
War Abroad and Homicides at Home: Evidence from the United States*
-
Foreign cues and public views on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
-
Distinction, Necessity, and Proportionality: Afghan Civilians’ Attitud...
-
Just War and Unjust Soldiers: American Public Opinion on the Moral Equ...
-
Do Self-Reporting Regimes Matter? Evidence From the Convention Against...
-
Recognizing the Science of Peace to Build Positive Peace
-
The first image reversed: IGO signals and mass political attitudes
-
Not Just a War Theory: American Public Opinion on Ethics in Combat
-
Does Science Fiction Affect Political Fact? Yes and No: A Survey Exper...
-
The rise of targeted killing
Figures and tables
Figures & Media
Tables
View Options
Get access
Access options
If you have access to journal content via a personal subscription, university, library, employer or society, select from the options below:
loading institutional access options
PSSI members can access this journal content using society membership credentials.
PSSI members can access this journal content using society membership credentials.
Alternatively, view purchase options below:
Purchase 24 hour online access to view and download content.
Access journal content via a DeepDyve subscription or find out more about this option.
