Introduction

Current measures of foreign policy positions in US Congress often rely on all votes, including domestic ones, thereby conflating a member's stance across different domains. This paper introduces an alternative approach using Bayesian item response theory applied exclusively to foreign policy votes.

Methodology

We developed this measure by implementing a Bayesian item response model specifically on foreign policy voting records of individual US legislators. Our analysis demonstrates how this method compares against existing measures commonly used in political science research.

Findings

This new methodology reveals distinct differences between domestic and foreign policy positions:

* Conventional measures incorporate both types of votes, potentially obscuring true international stances.

* Existing specialized measures using few controversial votes tend to exaggerate ideological extremes.

Our approach addresses these issues by focusing on relevant votes while mitigating extremeness through advanced modeling techniques.

Significance

The paper advances political representation research and offers a more accurate way to assess foreign policy positions. This allows scholars and policymakers to better understand international legislative perspectives separate from domestic influences.