Replication Data for: Loss Framing in Territorial Disputes

We explore how framing could affect territorial bargaining. We argue that contemporary international norms give leaders strong incentives to frame territorial claims as losses to be averted rather than gains to be obtained. According to the expectations of prospect theory, this framing should induce domestic audiences to become more supportive of risky escalation and less supportive of compromise settlements. Using survey experiments in Argentina and Chile about disputed territory in Antarctica, we find that loss framing indeed raises risk acceptance. Moreover, we find that, relative to benign or unspecified opponents, hostile opponents raise risk acceptance and somewhat attenuate the framing effect. Contrary to our expectations, historical ownership narratives do not induce framing effects. These findings corroborate the power of framing to shape public preferences in interstate disputes but also reveal limits to the scope conditions within which loss framing operates in such settings.