Researching Public Opinion Influence on the Foreign Policies of Emerging Asian Powers: The Benefits of Building Multiple Databases through Sequential, Multimethod Designs.

The connections between public opinion and foreign policy options of states is, among other factors, most extensively researched but is not clearly understood. These linkages become even more complicated when the focus is on emerging, developing states with their underdeveloped public accountability institutions and opinion survey infrastructure. In this paper, I investigate the nexus between American public opinion research practices and their extension to emerging powers to study foreign policy. I suggest that the theoretical approaches most useful to support this alternative combination of analytic tools are foreign policy analysis (FPA) and domestic constructivism. Together, they generate valid and reliable empirical findings. I measure this nexus through sequential, mixed-method research with a case study of India. I use discourse analysis to capture mass values as the first research tool, and use a large-n survey to assess the public?s opinion on foreign policy in the second phase. The findings show clear and significant correlations between mass values and public opinion and India?s foreign policy options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]