On February 27, 2025, Dr. Yehonatan Abramson will discuss his and Dr. Anil Menon's research into whether foreign criticism during war affects public support for change in war-related policies.
Thursday, February 27, 20255:30 PM - 7:00 PM (Pacific Time)In-person Location TBA (UCLA Campus)
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Organized by the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies.
About the Talk
Does foreign criticism during war affect public support for change in war-related policies? While existing literature on “naming and shaming” primarily focuses on the impact of international organizations, activist networks, and foreign states, Dr. Abramson investigates the impact of diaspora criticism using two pre-registered survey experiments fielded in Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. Each experiment manipulates an important element of real-world instances of diaspora criticism. First, he will discuss the effect of different Jewish-American petition strategies–addressing the Israeli government or addressing the Biden administration. Second, he will address the effect of criticism coming from different diaspora political organizations–AIPAC (center-right) or J Street (center-left). Overall, the findings of Dr. Abramson and his colleague Dr. Anil Menon indicate that during times of war, diaspora criticism neither increases public support for change in war practices nor triggers backlash. The two scholars found one notable exception; criticism from J Street increased public support for the policy that might be considered least costly–condemning settler violence.
About the Speakers
Dr. Yehonatan Abramson is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research interests include International Relations theory, identity politics, and diaspora politics. His work has been published in leading journals, such as the American Journal of Political Science, European Journal of International Relations, International Studies Quarterly, Social Studies of Science, Political Geography, and Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. He is currently leading a Israel Science Foundation research grant studying diaspora criticism.
Dr. Elizabeth Stein's (moderator) research focuses on Israel-Diaspora relations, diaspora politics broadly, and political division, activism, and organizational fragmentation among Jews in the United States, France, and Canada on matters concerning Israel. Dr. Stein received her doctorate from Queen's University, Canada, and is currently developing her dissertation, which was awarded Honorable Mention by the International Studies Association’s International Relations and Religion section, into a book manuscript. She also teaches the course "Special Studies in International Relations: Diaspora Politics" in the UCLA Dept. of Political Science.
DISCLAIMER: The views or opinions of our guest speakers and the content of their presentations do not necessarily reflect the views of the UCLA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. Hosting speakers does not constitute an endorsement of the speaker's views or opinions.