Senate Voting On the Strategic Defense Initiative: The Impact of the 1991 Gulf War

• Main Author: James F. Pasley
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lindenwood University 2012-04-01
• Series: Journal of International and Global Studies
• Online Access: http://www.lindenwood.edu/jigs/docs/volume3Issue2/essays/66-74.pdf

This paper examines the effects of the success of the Patriot missile system in the 1991 Gulf War on Senate roll call votes for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Previous studies have shown that both Party Identification (PID) and Ideology have had a significant effect on senators' votes on defense weapons systems. Using Logit regression techniques, this paper examines whether PID and Ideology, both of which are central to political identity, remained significant factors in three Senate votes on SDI; this paper is unique compare to previous studies of such matters in that it adds two additional explanatory variables to existing models: (1) the extent to which each state might benefit from SDI and (2) whether or not the senator from each state was up for re-election in 1992 It is hypothesized that the findings will suggest that external factors played a role in the SDI Senate votes in question. Specifically, it is hypothesized that the effects of the Gulf War Patriot missile successes led to greater legislative support (compared to support levels from previous years) for the Strategic Defense Initiative among Democrats, those senators whose states would benefit from SDI funding, and those senators seeking re-election.