Project description
How public opinion influences collective defence commitments
Does the success of military alliances depend on public opinion? Historical evidence suggests that allied nations often fail to uphold their collective defence commitments. However, existing research has yet to explore the impact of public sentiment on these critical decisions. The ERC-funded MICROCODE project aims to establish a new research agenda on the microfoundations of collective defence, focusing specifically on public opinion in allied countries. The project will conduct a cross-national study among key NATO member countries and develop a theoretical model to explain how individuals form attitudes towards allied assistance in various defence scenarios. It will also examine how these individual attitudes aggregate to shape public opinion, which, in turn, influences decision-makers.
Objective
Does the success of military alliances ultimately hang on the whims of public opinion? The historical record shows that allied states often do not honour their collective defence commitments, but existing scholarship has not yet explained the role of public views in these high-stakes decisions. The MICROCODE project aims to initiate a new research agenda on the microfoundations of collective defence that puts public opinion in allied countries at the centre of inquiry. Building on cutting-edge approaches in experimental political science, international relations, and political psychology, I aim to conduct an extensive, cross-national investigation in the key NATO member states, with the views of individuals as the principal unit of analysis. I introduce a complex theoretical model to explain (1) how individuals form attitudes towards allied assistance in different collective defence scenarios; (2) how these individual attitudes aggregate to form public opinion shaped by societal cues; and (3) how, in turn, public opinion shapes the views of decision-makers in allied states. My main set of hypotheses concerns the critical impact of the strategic context on the formation of public opinion and its relevance for policy-making: I propose that whereas conventional scenarios of direct armed aggression leave a limited role for public opinion, the more ambiguous “grey zone” conflicts potentially open a wide “contestation space” where public views become more polarised, elastic, and simultaneously more relevant for decision-makers. As a methodological innovation, I will use novel immersive mixed-media experiments to create an interactive, engaging, and realistic experience for the participants and examine how their attitudes towards defending allies change under different conditions. At a time of dramatic deterioration of the international security environment, the MICROCODE project’s findings could redefine how we view the stability and credibility of military alliances.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
116 36 Praha 1
Czechia
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.