The Right Frame of Mind? An Analysis of Global Anti-US-Military Protests

Abstract

Following the end of World War II, the United States embarked on the construction of a network of permanent military bases world-wide to protect US interests abroad. The US military presence can benefit the host nations and host communities by providing protection and by channeling finances into the local economy. At the same time, the presence may be associated with risks to the host community such as: crime, accidents, environmental degradation, and noise pollution. The result is that anti-US-military protest movements have emerged in several host communities. This study provides a global picture of anti-US-military protest mobilization over time by employing negative binomial regressions of an original protest event dataset from 1990 to 2016. I argue that a key explanatory factor is the frames employed by activists. Across several specifications, I find that frames emphasizing sovereignty are more likely to be associated with higher numbers of protesters per event, while women’s welfare frames are more likely to be associated with lower levels of mobilization. Thus, this project not only contributes to the literature on US military politics but also to understanding of the relationships between framing and protest mobilization.

Keywords: protests, US bases, event data, framing