Domestic support and diversionary external conflict in Great Britain, 1950-1992

Recent studies have analyzed the diversionary theory of international confl ict. The theory, which holds that state leaders occasionally turn to extern al conflict as a means of dealing with domestic political problems, has bee n widely accepted for centuries. Despite its intuitive appeal, quantitative studies have failed to document the phenomenon. Recent work has significan tly refined the argument and empirical evidence supporting the revised theo ry has been presented Because these empirical analyses have focused almost exclusively on the United States, it is not clear whether the theory is gen eralizable. Our purpose here is to test the revised diversionary theory in Great Britain for the 1950-92 period. The findings show that the level of p ublic support for the British government is in fact associated with the pro bability that Britain threatens, displays, or uses force abroad. These find ings are consistent with the theoretical argument, suggesting that it is ap plicable outside the United States.