Climate Change as a National Security Issue: Examining Framing Effects Across Party

2021 ◽  
pp. 1532673X2110532
Author(s):  
Jason Gainous ◽  
Melissa K. Merry
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
National Security ◽  
Energy Dependence ◽  
Opposite Direction ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Security Issue ◽  
Political Candidates ◽  
Democrats And Republicans ◽  
Climate Change Attitudes

Research suggests that framing climate change as a national security issue can shape opinion about climate change. This research is less clear about what exactly constitutes a “national security frame” and what aspects of this frame are most persuasive. We use a survey experiment to compare the relative effects of three types of national security frames we identify. Results show that a frame centered on energy dependence had the strongest effect and was the most consistent across partisanship. Surprisingly, the effects ran in the opposite direction for Democrats and Republicans on both outcomes—negative for Democrats and positive for Republicans. We also show that the energy dependence frame moderated the influence of respondents’ affect toward political candidates and parties on their climate change attitudes. The results suggest that the energy dependence frame can shape public opinion, but that it must be tailored to particular audiences to avoid backfire effects.

Partisanship vs. Principle: Understanding Public Opinion on Same-Day Registration

2019 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 568-583
Author(s):  
Devin McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
American Politics ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Major Party ◽  
Opposing Party ◽  
Rule Change ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Democrats And Republicans ◽  
Election Laws

Abstract Voter access has become a deeply polarized issue in American politics. It is well known that policymakers’ positions on election laws are often dictated by whether they think the laws will help their electoral interests and those of their party. But we know little about whether public opinion on election laws is similarly driven by partisan interest or is instead constrained by concerns of procedural legitimacy. To answer this question, I conduct a survey experiment that frames the issue of same-day registration (SDR) in terms of which major party it is expected to help electorally. The results provide clear evidence that both Democrats and Republicans are less likely to support SDR after being told the policy will primarily increase turnout among voters of the opposing party, but little evidence that being told SDR will benefit their own party affects opinion. These findings suggest an asymmetry in citizens’ willingness to choose partisan interest over democratic principles based on whether they perceive a rule change as benefiting the in-party or out-party.

scholarly journals Securitization of Climate Change in China: Implications for Global Climate Governance

2019 ◽  
Vol 05 (01) ◽  
pp. 97-116
Author(s):  
Maria Julia Trombetta
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
National Security ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Security Issue ◽  
Climate Governance ◽  
International Commitments ◽  
Security Discourse ◽  
Made In ◽  
China’S Economy

Despite the traditional resistance to consider climate change as a national security issue, the security impact of climate change has been increasingly recognized by official discourses in China over the past few years. The Chinese perception on climate change has shifted from a development issue to a security topic; and two driving forces are behind the emergence of the climate security discourse: the shift of China’s economy towards a “New Normal” and the commitments China made in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Meanwhile, two modalities of discourse that characterize the Chinese context are also discerned. One that involves national security has a rather fixed procedure about how security can be spoken of and by whom; the other is more relevant for issues like climate change and air pollution. In both cases, even if the language of security is used with regard to climate issues, they are handled as normal politics and governmental actions are legitimized by the use of security language. Although China has taken on more climate responsibilities, it seems unprepared for global climate leadership because security considerations not only determine the country’s participation but also limit its international commitments in global climate governance.

scholarly journals Questionnaire Design Effects in Climate Change Surveys

2015 ◽  
Vol 658 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathon P. Schuldt ◽  
Sungjong Roh ◽  
Norbert Schwarz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
The United States ◽  
Questionnaire Design ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Scientific Consensus ◽  
Design Variables ◽  
Public Opinion Surveys ◽  
Democrats And Republicans ◽  
Strong Agreement

Despite strong agreement among scientists, public opinion surveys reveal wide partisan disagreement on climate issues in the United States. We suggest that this divide may be exaggerated by questionnaire design variables. Following a brief literature review, we report on a national survey experiment involving U.S. Democrats and Republicans ( n = 2,041) (fielded August 25–September 5, 2012) that examined the effects of question wording and order on the belief that climate change exists, perceptions of scientific consensus, and support for limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Wording a questionnaire in terms of “global warming” (versus “climate change”) reduced Republicans’ (but not Democrats’) existence beliefs and weakened perceptions of the scientific consensus for both groups. Moreover, “global warming” reduced Republicans’ support for limiting greenhouse gases when this question immediately followed personal existence beliefs but not when the scientific consensus question intervened. We highlight the importance of attending to questionnaire design in the analysis of partisan differences.

scholarly journals Clear consensus among international public for government action at COP26: Patriotic and public health frames produce marginal gains in support

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa Buchanan ◽  
James Ackland ◽  
Sam Lloyd ◽  
Sander van der Linden ◽  
Lee de-Wit
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Message Framing ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Government Action ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
The Usa

Abstract This work surveys over 14,000 respondents in seven countries to assess support for government action to protect the environment, and for different policies at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. Baseline results reveal overwhelming support for action. At least nine out of ten respondents in six countries, and 79% in the USA, agree that all governments should do more. In each country, at least 50% of respondents express support for four policies: protecting wildlife; planting trees; spending more on clean technologies; and reducing the production of greenhouse gases over thirty years. A survey-experiment tests whether support changes when respondents are exposed to short texts framed in different ways. On average, exposure to a patriotism or public health text significantly raises support for action, albeit by only 1.6 and 1.3 percentage points respectively. On policies, exposure to either a public health text or a text based on current UN messaging increases support for tree-planting by 2.3 and 2.9 percentage points respectively. These results suggest that international public opinion is overwhelmingly in favour of government action at COP26. They highlight policies that are likely to attract majority support, and suggest that message-framing can have a very small impact.

Environmental Security and Climate Change: A Link to Homeland Security

2014 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kent Hughes Butts
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
National Security ◽  
Homeland Security ◽  
Environmental Security ◽  
Security Issue ◽  
Security Community

AbstractIt is time to broaden our thinking on the concept of homeland security and recognize the degree to which environmental security, and in particular climate change, affects US homeland security equities. Understanding how environmental security became a national security issue may be beneficial as the homeland security community seeks to understand the emerging issue of climate change and strategic documents linking climate change and homeland security.

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