Vandenberg Vanished: US Congress and the Politicisation of Military Interventions. Issue 3 (29th March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Böller, Florian
• Is Part Of: Parliamentary affairs. Volume 75:Issue 3(2022)
• Page Start: 676
• Page End: 696
• Publication Date: 2021-03-29
• Subjects: Military Interventions -- Politicisation -- US Congress -- War Powers; Representative government and representation -- Periodicals; Legislative bodies -- Periodicals; Great Britain -- Politics and government -- Periodicals; Legislative bodies; Political science; Representative government and representation; Great Britain; Periodicals; Periodicals; 328.4105
• DOI: 10.1093/pa/gsab023
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0031-2290

Abstract

Abstract: This article examines the extent and patterns of politicisation in the field of military interventions for the USA after the end of the Cold War. The analysis shows that key votes on war and peace in the US Congress are contested to a higher degree than in the European parliaments. It finds that Republican members of Congress (MoC) are in general more supportive of military interventions than Democrats. At the same time, party loyalty towards the president influences the level of support. Furthermore, an original content analysis of congressional debates reveals that MoC use specific argumentative frames in line with partisan ideology. Both parts of the analysis point to the relevance of partisanship and partisan ideology for understanding the politicisation of military interventions policies. Thus, the traditional bipartisan spirit, paradigmatically invoked by US Senator Arthur Vandenberg during the Cold War, has almost vanished.