The Effects of Militarized Interstate Disputes on Incumbent Voting across Genders

Citation:

Singh, Shane P., and Jaroslav Tir. 2019. “The Effects of Militarized Interstate Disputes on Incumbent Voting across Genders.” Political Behavior 41 (4): 975–99.

Authors: Shane P. Singh, Jaroslav Tir

Abstract:

Gender and politics research argues that men are more hawkish and supportive of militarized confrontations with foreign foes, while women ostensibly prefer more diplomatic approaches. This suggests that, after a militarized confrontation with a foreign power, women’s likelihood of voting for the incumbent will both decrease and be lower than that of men. Our individual-level, cross-national examinations cover 87 elections in 40 countries, 1996-2011, and show only some support for such notions. Women punish incumbents when their country is targeted in a low-hostility militarized interstate dispute (MID) or when their country is the initiator of a high-hostility MID. The low-hostility MID initiation and high-hostility MID targeting scenarios, meanwhile, prompt women to be more likely to vote for the incumbent. Importantly, men’s reactions rarely differ from women’s, casting doubt on the existence of a gender gap in electoral responses to international conflict.

Keywords: voting, militarized-conflict, Electoral behavior, 'gender'

Topics: Armed Conflict, Conflict, Gender, Governance, Elections

Year: 2019