Are You Experienced? US Ambassadors and International Crises, 1946–2014

IF 1.7 2区社会学 Q2 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Foreign Policy Analysis Pub Date : 2021-08-18 DOI:10.1093/fpa/orab026

Paul K. MacDonald

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

How important are ambassadors in international politics? While a growing body of research stresses the importance of diplomacy in international politics, it remains unclear if individual ambassadors make a significant difference or what attributes make for an effective ambassador. This paper explores these questions through a systematic analysis of 2,730 US ambassadors between 1946 and 2014. The United States is distinctive in that it sends a sizable number of noncareer political appointees to serve as ambassadors. This provides a unique opportunity to examine how an ambassador's experience shapes where they are placed and how they perform. Using various techniques to address selection effects, including matching, I find that the United States is less likely to experience a militarized dispute with a host nation when it is represented by a political ambassador. Moreover, political ambassadors with professional experience in politics or the military, those who are close to the president, and those who are appointed in permissive congressional environments are less likely to experience militarized disputes during their tenure. Individual ambassadors matter, but diplomatic experience alone is not the only attribute that makes for an effective ambassador.

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你有经验吗？美国大使与国际危机，1946–2014

大使在国际政治中有多重要?虽然越来越多的研究强调外交在国际政治中的重要性，但目前尚不清楚个别大使是否会产生重大影响，也不清楚一名有效的大使需要具备哪些特质。本文通过对1946年至2014年间2730名美国大使的系统分析，探讨了这些问题。美国的独特之处在于，它派遣了相当数量的非职业政治任命人员担任大使。这提供了一个独特的机会来研究大使的经历如何影响他们的位置和他们的表现。通过使用各种技术来解决选择效应，包括匹配，我发现当美国有一个政治大使代表时，它不太可能与东道国发生军事争端。此外，具有政治或军事经验的政治大使、与总统关系密切的政治大使、在宽松的国会环境中任命的政治大使在任职期间发生军事纠纷的可能性较小。个别大使很重要，但外交经验本身并不是成为一名有效大使的唯一条件。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Foreign Policy Analysis INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS-

CiteScore

3.60

自引率

9.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： Reflecting the diverse, comparative and multidisciplinary nature of the field, Foreign Policy Analysis provides an open forum for research publication that enhances the communication of concepts and ideas across theoretical, methodological, geographical and disciplinary boundaries. By emphasizing accessibility of content for scholars of all perspectives and approaches in the editorial and review process, Foreign Policy Analysis serves as a source for efforts at theoretical and methodological integration and deepening the conceptual debates throughout this rich and complex academic research tradition. Foreign policy analysis, as a field of study, is characterized by its actor-specific focus. The underlying, often implicit argument is that the source of international politics and change in international politics is human beings, acting individually or in groups. In the simplest terms, foreign policy analysis is the study of the process, effects, causes or outputs of foreign policy decision-making in either a comparative or case-specific manner.