"I'm From the Government and I'm Here to Help" | 2022 | Events

"I'm From the Government and I'm Here to Help": Public opinion and the use of state coercive force
Lindsay Cohn
Lindsay Cohn
US Naval War College
September 21, 2022
12-1:30pm

Summary:

We know a fair amount about what shapes US public attitudes towards military operations abroad, but very little about attitudes toward the domestic use of the military. Recent events have raised questions about whether the US public perceives differences among various state coercive actors, and how they feel about their domestic deployment. Dr. Cohn will present on recent research, in which she conducted a conjoint survey experiment, varying the actor (police, national guard, military), the emergency situation, the type of intervention, and whether the coercive actor is armed or not. 

Bio:

Lindsay P. Cohn is an Associate Professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval War College. Dr. Cohn's research and publications focus on military organizations and manpower, civil-military relations, international law of war, and foreign policy/public opinion. She received her PhD in Political Science (IR/Theory) from Duke University, and has held Harvard's Olin Fellowship, the Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship, and research fellowships from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Free University Berlin, SAIS's Center for Transatlantic Relations, and the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik. She has been invited to speak to military, academic, and policy audiences in Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Peru, and South Africa, and to testify before the Virginia General Assembly, the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service, and the Senate Armed Services Committee.