Individuals are more likely to support the same operation described by a "senior government official" than when it is described by a "David S. Cohen" from the CIA because the former signals success to the public, and the public infers success from the former. 4/4

I also find in my experiments that unattributable communication can boost support for drone strikes by 5 percentage points compared to attributable communication. Note that both types of communication concern the same operation. 3/4

The paper includes both text analysis and survey experiments. I first show that unattributable communication (type of quasi-secrecy) about drone strikes is as prevalent as attributable communication. Think of all the quotes by "senior government officials speaking on the condition of anonymity." 2/4

New paper online ⚠️: "Unnamed but Reassuring: Quasi-Secrecy and Public Support for Foreign Policy" by yours truly at @isq-jrnl.bsky.social. Open access available at: doi.org/10.1093/isq/.... I find that democratic governments leak classified info through unnamed sources to boost war support. 1/4

VIP APSA & Presenter Interest Form: Spring 2026 Please use this form to submit your project (paper or research design) for potential inclusion in the Spring 2026 sessions of the Violence, Instability, and Peace (VIP) Workshop and to share your inte...

Our CfP for spring 2026 is out, & the deadline to submit abstracts has been extended to Dec. 10th. forms.gle/Xz8vrW77sdoK...

We welcome submissions on a variety of topics in peace & conflict----if in doubt, apply!

Workshops are on Feb. 4th, March 4th, & April 8th, at 8am PST/11am EST/4pm GMT.

Circular Migration and the Moderation of Social Attitudes Abstract. Migration creates opportunities for transferring not just wealth but also norms, attitudes, and behaviors from migrant-receiving to migrant-sendi

"Circular Migration and the Moderation of Social Attitudes" is now published at @isq-jrnl.bsky.social!
doi.org/10.1093/isq/...
1/3

🧵IR scholars, let's start a thread of what we know that's relevant for a US attack on Iran. Won't change any minds, but might help us teach this crisis and learn new angles. Please add (incl. your own work!), forgive/correct omissions. Nobody can cover everything and it's great to find new work. 1/?

"If you saw all this in any other country — soldiers sent to crush dissent, union leaders arrested, opposition politicians threatened — it would be clear that autocracy had arrived."

The Experimentalist Looks Within: Toward an Understanding of The traditional approach in experimental economics is to use a between-subject design: the analyst places each unit in treatment or control simultaneously and recovers outcome differences via differen

I just received another within-subject experimental design to handle at the JPE. Be sure to discuss why you are properly identified and present the full distribution of outcomes: ideas.repec.org/p/feb/natura...

Tim Naftali's tweet on the termination of the HAC members without cause.

Unhappy to confirm that the entire Historical Advisory Committee at the State Department received termination notices this afternoon (myself included). The HAC, set up by Congress, oversees the office that produces the FRUS series. history.state.gov/about/hac/in... 1/