Item Details

abstract

News and scholarly headlines have routinely questioned if the People’s Republic of China (PRC) would pursue unification with Taiwan through military force. Despite the lack of formal obligations or treaty commitments to defend Taiwan, half of Americans in 2021 favored defending Taiwan if the PRC moved toward unification. Distrust of the PRC has also increased among the U.S. public, as well as media framing and discourse of Beijing. This study uses media effects theory to understand the variables that impact U.S. public opinion of Taiwan and grounds the research questions in U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity,” a policy that seeks to dissuade war over Taiwan’s status by remaining deliberately vague about whether it will intervene and to what degree. The study employs a between-subjects experimental study with two manipulated conditions (Detailed frame x Vague frame) designed to test the impact of media frame effects on public opinion. While the study’s statistically significant results were limited, it is evident that the media’s level of detail in framing U.S. policies matters and may influence the public’s opinion on relevant topics. There was a statistically significant difference in the two manipulated conditions (detailed x vague) on public support for strategic ambiguity (SA), whereas those exposed to the detailed frame supported SA more than those exposed to the vague frame. It was also found that participants exposed to the detailed frame had less favorable views of China than participants exposed to the vague frame.

subject

contributor

Ahmed, Habiba (author)

Krcmar, Marina (committee chair)

Louden, Allan (committee member)

Atchison, Jarrod (committee member)

date

2022-07-11T19:17:47Z (accessioned)

2022 (issued)

degree

Communication (discipline)

2024-05-23 (liftdate)

embargo

2024-05-23 (terms)

identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/101032 (uri)

language

en (iso)

publisher

Wake Forest University

title

NEWS FRAMES AND PUBLIC OPINION OF U.S. TAIWAN POLICY

type

Thesis