A. Arian et S. Olzaeker, Political and economic interactions with national security opinion - The Gulf War period in Israel, J CONFL RES, 43(1), 1999, pp. 58-77
Public opinion drives policy, and public opinion is driven by policy. These
propositions are explored using economic developments, government budget p
olicy, national security policy and public opinion variables in two sets of
conditions using routine or crisis conditions as a control variable. The r
elationships are examined during the Gulf War crisis in Israel (1990-1991).
Different sets of significant statistical relations were found for routine
and crisis conditions. The findings show that the relationships between pu
blic opinion and politics are not direct, but to a large extent, recursive.
The intensity of the relationships varied according to the state of nation
al security, with greater intensity in the crisis situation. The relationsh
ip was more direct under normal conditions. In the crisis situation, the in
fluence of politics on public opinion was greater than the influence of pub
lic opinion on politics.