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Public Opinion and the Future of U.S.-Panama Relations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Orlando J. Pérez
Orlando J. Pérez*
Affiliation:
Central Michigan University
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Abstract

Using survey data and interviews, this study examines Panamanian attitudes toward the United States and toward the central issues in US.- Panama relations. It also compares Panamanian attitudes with opinions toward the United States in the rest of Central America. The study finds that nationalism, system support, anticommunism, and, for the mass public, ideology are the most important variables in determining support for the United States. Elites are more nationalistic and less accommodationist toward the United States than the mass public. Concern about the politicization and misuse of the Panama Canal and adjacent lands has led many in the general public to support a continued US. military presence on the Isthmus of Panama.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 41 , Issue 3 , Autumn 1999 , pp. 1 - 33
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1999

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