Submission or Rebellion? Disentangling the Relationships of Anxiety, Attitudes Toward Authorities, and Right-Wing Populist Party Support

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3756469
AutoresSusanne Veit (0000-0002-9611-1105, German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), Berlin, Germany, autor correspondente), Magdalena Hirsch (0000-0002-9709-9259, WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Berlin, Germany), Heiko Giebler (0000-0002-7957-1353, WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Berlin, Germany), Johann Gründl (0000-0001-6497-8188, University of Vienna, Wien, Austria), Benjamin Schürmann (WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Berlin, Germany)
Ano2024
Volume69
Fascículo14
Páginas1775-1797
Data de publicação2024-04-18
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAmerican Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/00027642241240717
OpenAlexW4394932145
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas5
Referências citadas74

The success of right-wing populist parties (RPPs) is often attributed to their deployment of the rhetoric of fear that capitalizes on societal crisis and corresponding anxieties. However, empirical evidence on the relationship between anxiety and support for RPP (RPP support) remains inconclusive. We argue that right-wing authoritarian (RWA) and populist attitudes imply contradicting views on authority. Anti-elitism, a subdimension of populist attitudes, implies rebellion against established authorities; however, RWA submission relates to the inclination to obey authorities. These contradictory attitudes may account for the mixed results. In relation to anxiety, both rebellion and submission are conceived as defensive responses, but their relation to RPP support is different because the reactions to authority they induce are antithetical. Moreover, we differentiate between two forms of anxiety as sources of RPP support, which are often conflated in empirical studies: situational anxiety arising in response to specific threats and diffuse anxiety or a general sense of anxiety. We draw on mass survey data, including a survey experiment, that examines how anxiety drives support for the German right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD) via attitudes toward authority. The path analyses support our hypotheses and reveal that anti-elitism mediates the positive relationship between anxiety and voter support for the AfD. At the same time, authoritarian submission increases with anxiety, but-unlike anti-elitism-it is negatively associated with AfD support. Furthermore, the two paths are confirmed for situational and diffuse anxiety, with the relative importance of authoritarian submission and anti-elitism varying according to the form of anxiety

Anxiety · Criminology · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Radical right · Right wing · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · German legal, social, and political studies · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Psychology · Social Psychology