Religious Costly Signals in International Crises
Michaela Mattes, Professor
Political Science
Open. Apprentices needed for the spring semester. Enter your application online beginning January 17th. The deadline to apply is Monday, January 27th, 4 p.m..
On September 20, 2001, right after the 9/11 attacks, U.S. President George W. Bush addressed the nation and declared war against terror. In his speech, the President repeatedly used religious connotations. For instance, “Prayer has comforted us in sorrow, and will help strengthen us for the journey ahead.” President showed resolve while demonstrating religious devotion: “I will not yield; I will not rest; I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people…The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.” In addition to religious rhetoric, country leaders also use religious practices to signal resolve to their adversary. One example is when Saddam Hussein stitched the Muslim battle cry Allah-o-Akbar onto the Iraqi flag and prayed before television cameras days before the U.S.-led assault on Iraqi forces in Kuwait.
Interestingly, state leaders from various countries, including Western and non-Western states, and non-state leaders, such as from terrorist organizations, use religious symbolism when trying to deter or coerce an adversary. This behavior also spans different religions, including various branches of Christianity and Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Shintoism, and across time. Therefore, this project seeks to investigate the phenomenon of religious signals: who sends them, who are the adversaries who receive them, what is the credibility mechanism behind them, and do they work? While there is significant research on signals in international relations, we currently do not have a good understanding of religious signals. In order to develop a systematic theoretical and empirical model of religious signals, this project collects data on leaders’ wording, actions, and their use of religious symbolism from WWII to the present era.
Role: Undergraduate research apprentices will contribute to the project in a few ways:
(1) Construct a novel dataset of world leaders’ public statements in crises and track patterns of religious rhetoric and behavior. This includes collecting and coding information on the context, actors, timing, and nature of religious signals.
(2) Students also help to conceptualize and determine the measurement of religious signals, a new phenomenon in the international relations field.
(3) Depending on the level of progress made, students may also help in:
a. Developing case studies of a particular leader or a war domain, such as nuclear, conquering land, and terrorism.
b. Conduct an analysis of the data using R.
Qualifications: (1) Students must be organized.
(2) Strong interest in international relations, specifically security issues. It will be helpful if the student is also interested in the connection between religion and war.
(3) Understanding of a research process. We strongly recommend that applicants have written at least one research paper for a college-level class (preferably in political science or related fields) and received a grade of A- or higher.
(4) Facility with Microsoft Word and Excel. Familiarity with online databases such as J-STOR and Google Scholar is a plus.
(5) Undergraduate research assistants should be familiar with how to use library and electronic resources. They should not be averse to visiting the library physically and they should be willing to show some tenacity in tracking down very specific information about particular cases.
(6) Familiarity with R is helpful but optional.
(7) Reading knowledge of any foreign language, while certainly not required, would be an asset.
(8) The ability to think creatively and meet deadlines is essential.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Shira Cohen, Graduate Student
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: Students may conduct research virtually, and meetings will be held in person.
Social Sciences