488 CHAPTER 15|FOREIGN POLICY
mobilized for service in Iraq, support for the war declined in the communities
where these units were based.^52
Disagreements over foreign policy may also refl ect citizens’ exposure to diff er-
ent information or their disparate ways of understanding the world. Indeed, there
are sharp disagreements among citizens over the existence of climate change
and its cause—natural phenomena or human activity (see Chapter 5).^53 The same
study that documented those disagreements found that an individual’s support for
policies to combat climate change depends on his or her diagnosis of the problem.
Most people who see human activity as the cause favor policies that would allevi-
ate the problem, and most who believe climate change is a natural phenomenon
favor the status quo.
Disagreements may also originate in diff ering expectations about whether pol-
icies will work as intended, as well as the basic facts of a situation. For example,
during the debate over whether the United States and its allies should support
rebel groups in the Syrian civil war that began in 2011, some members of Congress
and Obama administration offi cials argued that Syria’s central geographic and
political position in the Middle East made intervention essential—while others
cited the same factors to argue against getting involved.^54 Both sides in the debate
were unsure of the size and capabilities of the various rebel groups, whether the
groups were willing to work together, whether arming these groups would prolong
the confl ict or end it, and what kind of political system would result if the rebel
groups succeeded in winning control of the country.
In sum, disagreements about foreign policy are unavoidable, both in govern-
ment and among the general public. These confl icts will surely continue. For a
variety of reasons, citizens and elected offi cials will disagree on what America’s
foreign policy should look like, and they will work in elections and in the govern-
ment to infl uence those choices.IN 1989 THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL,
which separated West Berlin
from communist East Berlin,
provided a powerful symbol of
the end of the Cold War. With
just one superpower— the United
States— left, many predicted that
democracy would spread and
peace would prevail. However, new
foreign policy challenges quickly
emerged.