THE GENDER-GAP IN ATTITUDES TOWARD THE GULF-WAR - A CROSS-NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Using data from a survey in a number of world cities before the outbre ak of hostilities in the Persian Gulf, we explore the sources and magn itude of the gender gap in support for military action. In most cities there are only modest gender differences in the interpretation of eve nts, in affect toward the major actors, and in support for the goals o f the UN actions, but women are less supportive of military action tha n men in nearly all cities. These differences are statistically signif icant but substantively modest, with men and women differing primarily in the degree of their enthusiasm for the military action. In Lagos a nd Ankara, however, there are no gender differences.