All Against All: How Beliefs about Human Nature Shape Foreign Policy Opinions

Brewer, P.R. & Steenbergen, M.R. 2002. Journal of Political Psychology

Although the American public’s increasingly cynical views about human nature have drawn considerable attention from scholars, existing research says little about how interpersonal trust shapes mass foreign policy opinions. This study analyzes survey data to test the claim that citizens use their beliefs about human nature to reason about international affairs.