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Journal of Conflict Resolution
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0022002708320542v1
52/5/623    most recent
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Economic Interests and Congressional Voting on Security Issues

Benjamin O. Fordham

Department of Political Science, Binghamton University (SUNY)

Most research on congressional consideration of foreign and defense policy concludes that ideology is the most important influence on roll-call voting and that constituent economic interests are not very important. This article challenges this conclusion on two grounds. First, most previous research conceives of constituent economic interests on these issues very narrowly, examining only the benefits constituents obtain from providing military goods and services rather than their economic stakes in the broader goals of national security policy. Second, the effect of ideology on congressional voting has changed enormously over time, a fact that poses difficulties for research that has stressed this consideration. The effects of broader economic interests and the changing implications of ideology are tested using a sample of key Senate votes on military resource allocation, intervention, and foreign aid from 1947 through 2000.

Key Words: Congress • roll-call voting • U.S. national security policy • economic interests • ideology

This version was published on October 1, 2008

Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 52, No. 5, 623-640 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0022002708320542
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