Author

Todd Brandon

Date of Award

4-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Political Science

First Advisor

Patrick Donnay

Abstract

Recent polls have revealed that Americans of both the political left and right support the use of military drones. This statement stands true among groups who traditionally do not support the use of military force. I hypothesize that people of a more liberal persuasion will be more concerned with whether or not the drone program endangers innocent civilians, while those of a more conservative view will be more concerned with the legality of conducting military drone strikes. I analyze data obtained from the Pew Research Center to examine people's attitudes on military drone strikes via framing theory. My hypothesis has been partially supported by the data in that Democrats in general are more concerned with the risk of civilian casualties than Republicans. However, Democrats tend to show less concern overall with the drone program. This may be, in part, due to their political affiliation with President Obama and a partisan frame to the drone war.

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