The ideologies of U.S. and Canadian IR scholars: A comparative analysis and construct validation

This paper: (1) reports the findings of a 1991 survey of the values and beliefs of U.S. IR scholars and compares these to the findings of a Canadian survey conducted a year earlier and (2) examines the structure, covariates, and construct validity of a scale measuring ideology developed from the Canadian data and incorporated in the U.S. survey. It finds U.S. scholars in general to be slightly more conservative than their Canadian counterparts. However, as in Canada, they evince considerable support for enhanced legal rights and protections for workers, while at the same time supporting the cooperativist schemes associated with the progressive HRM paradigm. This suggests aquid pro quo of sorts: that if workers are to undergo the sacrifices associated with these schemes (e.g., reduced rights under the collective agreement), they should be provided with increased rights under the law. Finally, the measure of ideology developed from the Canadian data is replicated by the U.S. survey; its covariates are also similar; and it conforms to a number of construct validity criteria. I thank Martin Morand and Jack Fiorito for comments on an earlier draft of this paper. Liz Campbell and Peter Stoyko provided research assistance.