Elites and Masses: A Comparative Analysis of Attitudes Toward America's World Role

Abstract

Elites and masses are found to have similar foreign policy belief systems defined by two distinct attitude dimensions, cooperative and militant internationalism. However, elites are located predominantly in the internationalist and accommodationist quadrants of the opinion typology defined by the bidimensional attitude structure. The mass, on the other hand, is more evenly distributed among the four categories, with a higher proportion in the hardline and isolationist quadrants. An examination of the background characteristics and attentiveness of respondents indicates that the differences between elites and masses inhere in the occupancy of leadership roles.