Under Pressure: Attitudes Towards China Among American Foreign Policy Professionals | Lecture by Rory Truex

How do social norms and professional incentives affect policy discourse within the Washington foreign policy community? We conducted over 50 semi-structured interviews and a survey of nearly five-hundred American foreign policy and national security professionals about their views towards the People's Republic of China. Over one fifth of survey respondents noted instances of professional pressure to voice a more hawkish point of view towards China, and many feared being perceived as naive or compromised by their views on, ties to, and experiences in China. These pressures were particularly acute for foreign policy professionals that are traditionally marginalized from power–those who are younger, non-white, or female. Our interview subjects reported a number of different coping strategies, including trying to communicate their views in the language of the perceived consensus. This "discourse mirroring" is distinct from preference falsification and self-censorship but may still contribute to difficulties in gauging peoples' true attitudes.