Study Significance
The authors study how citizens in countries hosting U.S. military personnel view that presence, addressing how installations and personnel may reshape host-nation social attitudes and inform policy on overseas military activities.
Measuring Exposure to the U.S. Presence
Using new cross-national survey data from 14 countries, the study captures individual-level exposure through measures of contact with U.S. military personnel and receipt of economic benefits from the U.S. presence.
Groups Compared in the Analysis
The analysis compares respondents who reported contact with U.S. personnel or receipt of economic benefits to respondents without such contact or benefits across the sampled 14 countries.
Main Findings and Interpretation
Contact with U.S. military personnel and receipt of economic benefits from the U.S. presence correlate with stronger support for the U.S. presence, its people, and its government.
The authors interpret these correlations as suggesting that U.S. installations and associated interactions have the potential to influence the social fabric of host nations and that these associations carry implications for how the U.S. conducts activities abroad.
