ABSTRACT
Making foreign and defense policy in a democracy is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, some feel that there is no more powerful a force than a democracy with the ire of its people aroused. On the other hand, a foreign and defense policy heavily influenced by the will of the people is seen by many as a source of weakness and vacillation in an unfriendly world. This chapter is concerned with one question related to the making of foreign and defense policy in the United States: What accounts for the attitude of the American public toward US defense spending?
