Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T10:57:41.309Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Congress and Foreign Policy: Congressional Action on the Darfur Genocide

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 June 2009

Joseph Uscinski ,
Michael S. Rocca ,
Gabriel R. Sanchez  and
Marina Brenden
Joseph Uscinski
Affiliation:
University of Miami
Michael S. Rocca
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico
Gabriel R. Sanchez
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico
Marina Brenden
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

As of January 2008, more than 400,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million people have been displaced in the regions of Darfur and Chad. This event has not gone unnoticed in the United States, as the 109th United States Congress (2005–2006) considered several measures in the House of Representatives to provide funding and peacekeeping forces to quell the violence in Darfur. The goal of this article is to explain individual members' of Congress (MCs') support for Darfur legislation by examining the influence of their individual, district, and institutional characteristics. The Darfur case provides the opportunity to analyze factors critical to congressional behavior in a context where there is reason to expect an MC's usual set of incentives—e.g., reelection and adherence to party—to be less prominent. In all, we contribute to congressional and foreign policy research by parceling out the determinants of congressional support for foreign policy in comparison to domestic policy.

Type
Features
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , July 2009 , pp. 489 - 496
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramson, Paul R. 1976. “Generational Change and the Decline of Party Identification in America: 1952–1974.” The American Political Science Review 70: 469–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Abramson, Paul R. 1979. “Developing Party Identification: A Further Examination of Life-Cycle, Generational, and Period Effects.” American Journal of Political Science 23: 78–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adler, Scott E., and Lapinski, John. 1997. “Demand-Side Theory and Congressional Committee Composition: A Constituency Characteristics Approach.” American Journal of Political Science 41: 895–918.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Almond, Gabriel A. 1950. The American People and Foreign Policy. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Arnold, Douglas R. 1990. The Logic of Congressional Action. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Bartels, Larry. 1991. “Constituency Opinion and Congressional Policy Making: The Reagan Defense Buildup.” American Political Science Review 85: 457–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baum, Mathew A. 2002. “Sex, Lies, and War: How Soft News Brings Foreign Policy to the Inattentive Public.” American Political Science Review 96: 91–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bawn, Kathleen, and Koger, Gregory. 2008. “Effort, Intensity and Position Taking: Reconsidering Obstruction in the Pre-Cloture Senate.” Journal of Theoretical Politics 20: 67–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binder, Sarah A., Lawrence, Eric D., and Maltzman, Forrest. 1999. “Uncovering the Hidden Effect of Party.” Journal of Politics 61: 815–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishin, Benjamin G., and Hayes, Thomas. 2008. “Tyranny of the Minority? Issue Visibility, Subconstituency Politics, and Legislative Representation.” Paper presented at the Southwestern Social Science Association Annual Meeting, Las Vegas.Google Scholar
Braun, Ted. 2007. Darfur Now. USA: Mandalay Independent Pictures.Google Scholar
Broz, J. Lawrence. 2005. “Congressional Politics of International Financial Rescues.” American Journal of Political Science 49: 479–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burden, Barry. 2007. Personal Roots of Representation. Princeton University Press: Princeton.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burgin, Eileen. 1994. “Influences Shaping Members' Decision Making: Congressional Voting on the Persian Gulf War.” Political Behavior 16: 319–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cameron, Charles, Epstein, David, and O'Halloran, Sharon. 1996. “Do Majority-Minority Districts Maximize Substantive Black Representation in Congress?” American Political Science Review 90: 794–812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canon, David. 1999. Race, Redistricting, and Representation: The Unintended Consequences of Black Majority Districts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craig, Stephen C., and Bennett, Stephen Earl, eds. 1997. After the Boom: The Politics of Generation X. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Cronin, Patrick, and Fordham, Benjamin O.. 1999. “Timeless Principles or Today's Fashion? Testing the Stability of the Linkage between Ideology and Foreign Policy in the Senate.” The Journal of Politics 61: 967–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crook, John R. 2005. “The President and Secretary of State Characterize Events in Darfur as Genocide.” The American Journal of International Law 99: 266–67.Google Scholar
DarfurScores.org. n.d. “Genocide in Darfur, Sudan.” http://darfurscores.com/darfur.Google Scholar
Dawson, Michael C. 1995. Behind the Mule. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delli Carpini, Michael X., and Keeter, Scott. 1996. What Americans Know about Politics and Why it Matters. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Dyer, Ervin. 2006. “Thousands Rally to End The Genocide in Darfur; Celebrities, Politicians Put Conflict in Western Sudan Under Spotlight.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 1, A-1.Google Scholar
Fenno, Richard. 1973. Congressmen in Committees. Boston, MA: Little Brown.Google Scholar
Fiorina, Morris. 1974. Representatives, Roll Calls, and Constituencies. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Frommer, Frederic J. 2006. “7 House Members Arrested at Sudan Embassy.” Washington Post, May 16.Google Scholar
Guth, James L., and Green, John C.. 1991. “An Ideology of Rights: Support for Civil Liberties among Political Activists.” Political Behavior 13: 321–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Richard L., and Grofman, Bernard. 1990. “The Committee Assignment Process and the Conditional Nature of Committee Bias.” The American Political Science Review 84: 1149–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrick, Rebekah, Moore, Michael K., and Hibbing, John R.. 1994. “Unfastening the Electoral Connection: The Behavior of U.S. Representatives when Reelection is No Longer a Factor.” The Journal of Politics 56: 214–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hibbing, John R. 1991. “Contours of the Modern Congressional Career.” The American Political Science Review 85: 405–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, Kevin A. 1993. “The Domestic Sources of Foreign Policymaking: Congressional Voting and American Mass Attitudes toward South Africa.” International Studies Quarterly 37: 195–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurwitz, Mark S., Moiles, Roger J., and Rohde, David W.. 2001. “Distributive and Partisan Issues in Agriculture Policy in the 104th House.” The American Political Science Review 95: 911–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, John E., and Kingdon, John W.. 1992. “Ideology, Interest Group Scores, and Legislative Votes.” American Journal of Political Science 36: 805–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, M. Kent, and Niemi, Richard G.. 1981. Generations and Politics: A Panel Study of Young Adults and Their Parents. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kingdon, John W. 1973. Congressmen's Voting Decisions. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Kingdon, John W. 1977. “Models of Legislative Voting.” The Journal of Politics 39: 563–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kolbe, James T. 2007. “Foreign Relations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2007.” Congressional Record 152: 3535. https://web.lexisnexis.com/congcomp.Google Scholar
Kristof, Nicholas D. 2006. “Poisoned Arrows vs. Machine Guns.” The New York Times, November 14, 27.Google Scholar
Lindsay, James M. 1994. “Congress, Foreign Policy, and the New Institutionalism.” International Studies Quarterly 38: 281–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lippman, Walter. 1922. Public Opinion. New York: Harcourt, Brace.Google Scholar
Londregan, John, and Snyder, James M.. 1994. “Comparing Committee and Floor Preferences.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 19: 233–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lublin, David I. 1997. The Paradox of Representation: Racial Gerrymandering and Minority Interests in Congress. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mansbridge, Jane. 1999. “Should Blacks Represent Blacks, and Women Represent Minority Interests in Congress. Women? A Contingent ‘Yes.’” The Journal of Politics 61: 628–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayhew, David R. 1974. “Congressional Elections: The Case of the Vanishing Marginals.” Polity 6: 295–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meernik, James. 1995. “Congress, the President, and the Commitment of the U. S. Military.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 20: 377–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meernik, James, and Oldmixon, Elizabeth. 2004. “Internationalism in Congress.” Political Research Quarterly 57: 451–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Warren E. 1992. “Generational Change and Party Identification.” Political Behavior 14: 333–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Warren E., and Stokes, Donald E.. 1963. “Constituency Influence in Congress.” American Political Science Review 57: 45–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montesquiou, Alfred de. 2006. “Janjaweed Accused of New Darfur Killings.” Associated Press Online, November 13.Google Scholar
Overby, Marvin L. 1991. “Assessing Constituency Influence: Congressional Voting on the Nuclear Freeze, 1982–83.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 16: 297–312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Payne, James L. 1991. “Why Government Spending Grows: The ‘Socialization’ Hypothesis.” The Western Political Quarterly 44: 487–508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rangel, Charles B. 2006. “Jewish American Heritage Month.” Congressional Record 152: 975. https://web.lexisnexis.com/congcomp.Google Scholar
Ripley, Randall B., and Lindsay, James M.. 1992. “Foreign and Defense Policy in Congress: A Research Agenda for the 1990s.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 17: 417–49.Google Scholar
Rocca, Michael, and Sanchez, Gabriel R.. 2008. “The Effect of Race and Ethnicity on Bill Sponsorship in Congress.” American Politics Research 36: 130–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rocca, Michael, Sanchez, Gabriel R., and Uscinski, Joseph E.. 2008. “Descriptive Attributes of Latino Representatives.” Social Science Quarterly 89: 392–405.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruby, Robert. 2007. “In Focus: Mormonism in Modern America.” Pew Research Center Publications: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/478/mormonism-in-america.Google Scholar
Swain, Carol M. 1993. Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Swers, Michele L. 1998. “Are Women More Likely to Vote for Women's Issue Bills than Their Male Colleagues?” Legislative Studies Quarterly 23: 435–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swers, Michele L. 2001. “Understanding the Policy Impact of Electing Women: Evidence from Research on Congress and State Legislatures.” PS: Political Science and Politics 34: 217–20.Google Scholar
Swers, Michele L. 2002. The Difference Women Make: The Policy Impact of Women in Congress. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tate, Katherine. 1994. From Protest to Politics: The New Black Voters in American Elections. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Taylor, Andrew J., and Rourke, John T.. 1995. “Historical Analogies in the Congressional Foreign Policy Process.” The Journal of Politics 57: 460–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, Michael. 2006. “Recognizing the Children of Congregation Shir Shalom of Sonoma, California.” Congressional Record 151: E1006. https://web.lexisnexis.com/congcomp.Google Scholar
Tichenor, P.J., Donohue, G. A., and Olien, C. N.. 1970. “Mass Media Flow and Differential Growth of Knowledge.” Public Opinion Quarterly 34: 159–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uslaner, Eric M. 1999. The Movers and the Shirkers. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weingast, Barry, and Marshall, William. 1988. “The Industrial Organization of Congress; or, Why Legislatures, Like Firms, Are not Organized as Markets.” Journal of Political Economy 96: 132–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welch, Susan. 1985. “Are Women More Liberal than Men in the U.S. Congress?” Legislative Studies Quarterly 10: 125–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitby, Kenny J. 1998. The Color of Representation: Congressional Behavior and Black Interests. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar