Benjamin Schaftel

Traditional civil-military norms prescribe that political engagement by the military may erode the public’s high confidence and trust in the military. Although a growing body of empirical research illustrates that military elites who share their opinions on use of force issues affect public confidence in the military, little attention has been given to whether the military’s preferences on non-use of force issues also affect public perceptions of the military. Using three experiments embedded in surveys of the American public, I study how the public changes its views of the military when presented with the military’s views on climate change, the national debt, and transgender service member restrictions. Results show that Democrats are highly responsive to the military’s position, both positively and negatively, across multiple issues. When Democrats are informed of the military’s pro-climate change position, they increase their confidence and credibility by 13% and 10%, respectively. However, when Democrats are informed of the military’s position that transgender people who have gender dysphoria should be restricted from joining the military, they decrease their confidence and credibility by 20% and 15% respectively. Republicans, on the other hand, are largely unresponsive to changing their views of the military across these same issues.