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Losing Heart: Declining Support and the Political Marketing of the Afghanistan Mission

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2009

Joseph F. Fletcher ,
Heather Bastedo  and
Jennifer Hove
Joseph F. Fletcher*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Heather Bastedo*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Jennifer Hove*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
*
Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, Sidney Smith Hall, Room 3018, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3. Email: josephf@chass.utoronto.ca
Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, Sidney Smith Hall, Room 3018, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3. Email: heather.bastedo@utoronto.ca
Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, Sidney Smith Hall, Room 3018, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3. Email: j.hove@utoronto.ca
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Abstract

Abstract. Public opinion shifted markedly between 2006 and 2007 regarding Canadian military participation in Afghanistan. Multivariate analysis of survey data reveals that the interplay of cognitive and emotional responses fractured support and consolidated opposition to the mission. Subsequently, a major government communication strategy, aimed at bolstering support for the Afghan mission succeeded at an informational level but failed to connect at an emotional one, leaving overall support for the mission essentially unchanged. Our analysis points to the need for nuanced interpretation of shifts in public support for war as well as in assessing political marketing efforts by government.

Résumé. L'opinion publique s'est nettement décalée entre 2006 et 2007 concernant la participation militaire canadienne en Afghanistan. L'analyse multi variée des données d'aperçu indique que l'effet des réponses cognitives et émotives a divisé l'appui et a consolidé l'opposition à la mission. D'ailleurs, une stratégie importante de communication du gouvernement, destinée à augmenter le soutien de la mission afghane a réussi à un niveau informationnel, mais ne s'est pas reliée au niveau émotif, laissant le soutien global de la mission essentiellement inchangé. Notre analyse indique le besoin d'une interprétation diversifiée et nuancée des variations de soutien public face à la guerre ainsi qu'une évaluation du marketing politique du gouvernement.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , December 2009 , pp. 911 - 937
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2009

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