(as opposed to religion). The review begins with a brief overview of why it is important to study attitudes toward war and ends with a series of conclusions about attitudes toward war, racism, religious dogmatism and Islamophobia formulated on the basis of the examined literature.
Importance of Studying Attitudes Toward War
The importance of attitudinal research in the fields of political science and foreign policy has long been stressed (see: Hastedt, 2002; Heinenman, 1995; Roskin, Cord, Medeiros & Jones, 2002). This study looks at one particular category of attitudes, namely attitudes toward war. The significance of such an examination can be found in the comments of Keegan (1994) who reports that over the last 2,000 years, war has been a major influence in shaping both America and Europe's economic, political and social development.
In other words, war affects the very nature of our existing societies and institutions. This fact alone makes it important to understand how people view war in general as well as how they view specific wars such as the war in Afghanistan or Iraq and the more general war on terrorism. Why does a given individual support one war but not another? Why do some people support no wars at all? Do people believe that war is useful and of benefit to a society and, if so, why? Attitudinal research can answer these questions and many more, and thereby inform as to how people feel about this process that has for so long shaped human societies.
Among the many questions that can be asked about attitudes toward war is: What traits, characteristics, personality variables, or demographics influence or shape these attitudes? This review of literature examines three specific factors in relation to war in general and the war on terrorism specifically. These are the variables of: racism, Islamophobia (hatred, fear, and/or hostility toward Muslims, See: Verkhovsky, 2004) and religious dogmatism.
Jones (200...