More Equal than Others: Race and Religion Alter Support to Countries in Conflict

Abstract

How does the race of those suffering alter Americans’ sympathy and support for invaded countries? Moving beyond the traditional White-Black binary, this research examines how the intertwined domestic and international racialization for both Asians and Arabs creates penalties in support. Late Cold War survey data provides suggestive evidence, but to establish causality, I use AI-generated images to manipulate the race of a hypothetical invaded country. White Americans are less supportive toward Arab and Asian majority countries, though majority Black countries were not penalized. Importantly, race biases evaluations of material capabilities. Then, to analyze invader and invaded identities, I field a paired-profile conjoint experiment, finding respondents support invaded countries in general, but the cross-pull of outgroup racial or religious identity weakens and even eliminates the support for victims. Race can bias support, but also condition how people react to aggressive behavior. Identity cannot be easily separated from strategic or material considerations.