Explaining Autocratic Support

The Varying Effects of Threat on Personality

Bibliographic Data

ID6337602
AuthorsPaula Armendáriz Miranda (University of Minnesota, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume43
Issue6
Pages993-1007
Publication date2022-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitical Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0162-895X • E-ISSN: 1467-9221
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/pops.12794
OpenAlexW3216309710
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited52

Why do people support autocratic forms of governance? Political psychology suggests that certain psychological traits predispose people to express authoritarian attitudes, especially under conditions of normative threat. However, such research has not explored whether perceptions of existential threats drive support for autocracy. Nor has this research explored whether the types of threats that activate autocratic support might vary across socioeconomic contexts. I extend existing work and show that closed personalities are more likely to support autocracy under conditions of threat. I also show that, in developing countries, “crisis threats”—poor economic performance, rampant crime, or corruption—activate closed personalities' needs for order and security heightening their autocratic support. Using public opinion data, I show how crisis threats activate closed personalities' support for autocracy in Latin America. The findings demonstrate the utility of personality psychology for understanding contemporary patterns of support for autocracy. The results also shed light on the possible roots of public support for autocratic leaders and forms of governance worldwide

Authoritarianism · Autocracy · Democracy · Language change · Personality · Personality psychology · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Cultural Differences and Values · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Law · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

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