Understanding Responses to Global Terrorism: How Do Americans React to Terror and How Does It Impact Opinion on the Use of Force?

ABSTRACT Objectives Building on theories of social identity and ethnocentrism, this study asks whether Americans express stronger empathy and greater support for the use of force, intervention, and enhanced interrogation when victims of terrorism are culturally similar to themselves. Methods Using an original survey experiment, participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a control story, a news story describing a terrorist attack in Istanbul, or a parallel story describing an attack in London. Participants then rated their support for the use of military force, American involvement abroad, other nations’ right to respond militarily, and the use of enhanced interrogation. Regression models controlled for partisanship, ideology, and demographics. Results Exposure to the London (Western) attack significantly increased support for military force, American involvement, and torture relative to both the Istanbul and control conditions. These shifts were driven primarily by Democrats, liberals, and 2016 Clinton voters—groups typically less supportive of coercive measures. Conclusion Findings suggest that ethnocentric empathy meaningfully shapes public opinion on security and human rights. When terrorism affects culturally “in‐group” nations, even left‐leaning Americans become more permissive toward violence and torture.