Reneging on alliances: Experimental evidence
To what extent can democratic leaders mitigate the costs of reneging on alliance agreements? Previous research suggests that democratic leaders suffer from domestic backlash if they decide to renege on alliance treaties. However, less is known about whether and to what extent leaders can mitigate th...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Research & Politics |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20531680231203808 |
| _version_ | 1827807532191580160 |
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| author | Weifang Xu Kai Quek Mark Souva |
| author_facet | Weifang Xu Kai Quek Mark Souva |
| author_sort | Weifang Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To what extent can democratic leaders mitigate the costs of reneging on alliance agreements? Previous research suggests that democratic leaders suffer from domestic backlash if they decide to renege on alliance treaties. However, less is known about whether and to what extent leaders can mitigate the domestic costs of reneging on alliance commitments. We study strategies leaders use to mitigate these costs. Specifically, we experimentally investigate whether and how much the costs of reneging are affected by different sidestepping strategies and the costs of fulfilling an alliance commitment. Results show that the potential costs of fulfilling commitments can dilute the domestic backlash for reneging on alliances, but various sidestepping strategies that work in the standard audience-cost context of reneging on a public threat do not work for reneging on a formal alliance. These findings expand our understanding of the reliability of democratic alliances and show that reneging costs are contingent on the context. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:58:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-725af83df7754c989241f7a6e55d57a7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2053-1680 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:58:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Research & Politics |
| spelling | doaj.art-725af83df7754c989241f7a6e55d57a72023-09-25T17:03:29ZengSAGE PublishingResearch & Politics2053-16802023-09-011010.1177/20531680231203808Reneging on alliances: Experimental evidenceWeifang XuKai QuekMark SouvaTo what extent can democratic leaders mitigate the costs of reneging on alliance agreements? Previous research suggests that democratic leaders suffer from domestic backlash if they decide to renege on alliance treaties. However, less is known about whether and to what extent leaders can mitigate the domestic costs of reneging on alliance commitments. We study strategies leaders use to mitigate these costs. Specifically, we experimentally investigate whether and how much the costs of reneging are affected by different sidestepping strategies and the costs of fulfilling an alliance commitment. Results show that the potential costs of fulfilling commitments can dilute the domestic backlash for reneging on alliances, but various sidestepping strategies that work in the standard audience-cost context of reneging on a public threat do not work for reneging on a formal alliance. These findings expand our understanding of the reliability of democratic alliances and show that reneging costs are contingent on the context.https://doi.org/10.1177/20531680231203808 |
| spellingShingle | Weifang Xu Kai Quek Mark Souva Reneging on alliances: Experimental evidence Research & Politics |
| title | Reneging on alliances: Experimental evidence |
| title_full | Reneging on alliances: Experimental evidence |
| title_fullStr | Reneging on alliances: Experimental evidence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reneging on alliances: Experimental evidence |
| title_short | Reneging on alliances: Experimental evidence |
| title_sort | reneging on alliances experimental evidence |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20531680231203808 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT weifangxu renegingonalliancesexperimentalevidence AT kaiquek renegingonalliancesexperimentalevidence AT marksouva renegingonalliancesexperimentalevidence |