The Structure of Elite Foreign Policy Beliefs

Abstract

T he opinions and policy preferences of American elites play a unique role in the public opinion-foreign policy process (Almond 1950). They both structure public debate on foreign policy and influence the decisions of top foreign policy officials. Given the crucial role that these elites play in the opinion-policy process, it is not surprising that a lack of consensus among the elites on foreign policy since the Vietnam War has triggered special interest in their foreign policy beliefs. Two quadrennial surveys stand out among the many studies that have been conducted since the end of the Vietnam War. One series