The Power, History, and Society working group and the Urban Ethnography Lab invite you to a book talk with Yuval Feinstein, Rally ‘Round the Flag: The Search for National Honor and Respect in Times of Crisis (Oxford University Press, May 2022). Graduate student workshop to follow.
Monday, March 21, 2022
Virtual Book Talk- 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM, Zoom link: https://utexas.zoom.us/j/95393608821
Hybrid Graduate Student Workshop- 1:15 PM – 2:15 PM, Zoom link: https://utexas.zoom.us/j/95393608821 & Glickman Conference Center- RLP 1.302E
Feinstein’s book revisits the rally-round-the-flag phenomenon in the United States, which is characterized by a sudden and sharp increase in the public approval rating of the sitting US president in response to a war or security crisis. Notably, relatively few wars and security crises have generated rallies. Therefore, the book examines the conditions and processes through which rallies emerged in US public opinion in 1950-2020. The investigation reveals that rally outcomes have emerged in US public opinion only under specific sets of conditions, which jointly convinced most Americans that taking military action against national enemies was necessary for maintaining national honor and earning the respect of other nations. This assessment evoked positive affective reactions to an actual or expected military action, which motivated people to rally behind the commander-in-chief. These findings contrast with prominent arguments about public opinion in wars, which suggests that attitudes emerge from rational policy evaluation or the experience of security threats and adverse affective reactions. The author will also discuss the implications of his finding for understanding why rallies have emerged in other countries and in response to events other than war.
Yuval Feinstein is a Senior Lecturer of Sociology at the University of Haifa and a Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology at Harvard University. He received his PhD in sociology in 2012 from the University of California in Los Angeles. His research examines the ways ethnic/racial and national identities affect people’s attitudes about peace and war, immigration, and majority-minority relations in settled and unsettled times. His book, Rally Round the Flag: The Search for National Honor and Respect in Times of Crisis is forthcoming with Oxford University Press, May 2022. He has published articles in many peer-reviewed journals, including the American Sociological Review, the American Journal of Sociology, Sociological Science, and Sociology.