PUBLIC OPINION AND POLICY DURING THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR
Keywords:
Public Opinion, Global War on Terror, Policy-Making, Elitism Theory, Counterterrorism Strategies, Democratic GovernanceAbstract
This paper attempts to investigate the extent to which public opinion affected policy-making during the Global War on Terror. Over the years since September 11th, many policies, both popular and unpopular, were made in response to this devastating attack against the American people on their own soil, with approval of such policies fluctuating regularly. According to conventional wisdom, how the government of the United States is set up should compel the highest amount of receptiveness to public opinion as possible, enabled by the Constitution and so forth, allowing policies regarding the war to be as reflective of public opinion as can be afforded by America’s governance system. However, some theorize that there is more afoot, hypothesizing that elite meddling and hardcore lobbying from the military-industrial complex are currently large impediments to government receptiveness towards public opinion during matters regarding the Global War on Terror. Regardless, as research would suggest, the situation is more complex than it appears.
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