Losing Heart: Declining Support and the Political Marketing of the Afghanistan Mission

Public opinion shifted markedly between 2006 and 2007 regarding Canadian military participation in Afghanistan. Multivariate analysis of survey data reveals that the interplay of cognitive and emotional responses fractured support and consolidated opposition to the mission. Subsequently, a major government communication strategy, aimed at bolstering support for the Afghan mission succeeded at an informational level but failed to connect at an emotional one, leaving overall support for the mission essentially unchanged. Our analysis points to the need for nuanced interpretation of shifts in public support for war as well as in assessing political marketing efforts by government.