China Through American Eyes: The Role of Liberalism Peter Gries THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA EAI / NCTA Tulsa, OK 7 November 2015

Political psychology Perception is reality Who we are and what we believe shapes our views of the world, including China 1. Big “I” Ideology: Liberalism that all Americans share 2. Small “i” ideologies: Differences between American liberals and conservatives

The Daily Show with John Stewart

Liberalism: Maximizing individual freedom What Americans celebrate:

What we fear: George Orwell’s “Big Brother” “If you want to imagine the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever.” — George Orwell, 1984 (c1949)

“We don’t need no education.”

Why do we like our former enemies so much? … They are democracies

The ‘Democratic Peace’ Democracies as natural allies –Don’t view each other as threatening, so don’t go to war – Immanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace (1795) But tend to view non-democracies as threatening –So may be more war-prone towards them… –David Hume: ‘imprudent vehemence’

Freedom House scores are strongly predictive of American feelings towards foreign countries, 2011 R 2 linear =.77 r =.88; N = 16

But not all Americans are alike… …liberal and conservative ideologies shape American views of China and the world.

National American Internet survey Nationally representative sample (spring 2011; N=1,000), matches US population on standard demographic variables (age, sex, education, income, race, and region), as well as religion, party identification, and ideology (liberal-conservative)

American liberals consistently feel warmer than conservatives do towards the world, including China. Chapter 9: East Asia

Not all liberals and conservatives are alike… 2008 Democrats 2012 Republicans … yet our public opinion scholarship largely ignores those differences.

Four Dimensions of American Ideology: RWA – traditionalism: - There is absolutely nothing wrong with nudist camps. (rev) - This country will flourish if young people stop experimenting with drugs, alcohol, and sex, and focus on family values. - There is nothing wrong with premarital sexual intercourse. (rev) Mike Huckabee Jerry Fallwell Wendy Davis 1) culture wars

… shape international attitudes

Four Dimensions of American Ideology: 2) socio-racial SDO – group dominance: - Inferior groups should stay in their place. - It’s probably a BAD thing that certain groups are at the top and other groups are at the bottom. (reverse coded) - Some groups of people are simply inferior to other groups. George Wallace

Four Dimensions of American Ideology: 3) Economic - Differences between high and low incomes should remain as they are. - The government should decrease income differences. (rev) - Class differences should be smaller than they are today. (rev.)

Four Dimensions of American Ideology: 4) Communitarian – Libertarian Communitarian-Libertarian scale: - American society has swung too far towards individual rights at the expense of social responsibilities. (rev.) - Individual rights are more important than the good of the group. - Individuals should be free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government. - Government must limit our individual freedoms so as to prevent unchecked selfishness, greed, and immorality. (rev.) Elizabeth Warren Ron Paul

Dual pathways from American ideologies to China policy preferences

Barry Goldwater & Libertarian anti-communism

US political advertising