Americans Prioritize Stability Over Democracy in Iraq

Strategic Insights -

Following a series of "Citizen Deliberations" held in 10 cities across the United States, including Seattle, citizens expressed a strong preference for ensuring a stable government in Iraq over establishing a democracy. The experiment, led by the By the People project, aimed to gather citizens' opinions on national security and trade policies through a unique process of civic dialogue and deliberation. The results showed that participants became more informed and nuanced in their thinking on these issues, with significant differences in their views compared to a randomly selected control group.

Key Takeaways:

  • 71% of participants agreed that establishing a stable government in Iraq was more important than establishing a democracy, compared to 42% of the control group.
  • 88% of participants and 76% of the control group supported involving other countries and/or the UN in Iraq, in return for sharing more of the military and financial burden.
  • Participants were less tolerant of the cost of the war in Iraq, with only 21% agreeing post-deliberation that the results would be worth the cost in lives and dollars, compared to 36% prior to deliberation.
  • 68% of participants believed that the war in Iraq had impeded the war on terror, while only 42% of the control group held this view.
  • Participants became more supportive of free trade, with 45% supporting free global competition without special protections for American industries, compared to 31% of the control group.
  • 49% of Seattle participants agreed that the US should generally obey WTO decisions that go against them, compared to 32% of the control group.

Statistics:

  • 91% of participants correctly rejected the statement that "Iraq's oil revenues are currently paying for the occupation and rebuilding of Iraq," compared to 67% of the control group.
  • 76% of participants correctly identified the WTO position on US steel tariffs, compared to 18% of the control group.
  • 96% of participants correctly identified the parties to NAFTA, compared to 51% of the control group.
  • 89% of participants correctly identified the parties to NAFTA, compared to 43% of the control group.
  • 59% of participants correctly answered whether the WTO supported the US steel tariffs, compared to 43% of the control group.
  • 61% of participants knew that the US fought with an international force of many countries in the first Gulf War, compared to 41% of the control group.

Sources:

  • "By the People" project, led by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions
  • "News Hour with Jim Lehrer"
  • William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
  • World Affairs Council
  • KCTS Public Television
  • Seattle Post-Intelligencer
  • Seattle Public Library
  • KUOW FM
  • Stanford Center for Deliberative Democracy
  • University of Washington's Mary Gates Hall
  • Deliberative Polling process
  • Seattle Citizen Deliberations (January 2004)