Violent Rhetoric in Protracted Group Conflicts

Experimental Evidence from Israel and India

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6340561
AutoresJoshua R Gubler (0000-0003-1635-8210, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA, autor de correspondencia), Nathan P Kalmoe (0000-0001-7679-137X, Monmouth College, IL, USA)
Año2015
Volumen68
Número4
Páginas651-664
Fecha de publicación2015-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPolitical Research Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1065-9129 • E-ISSN: 1938-274X
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1065912915608947
OpenAlexW2341519780
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas12
Referencias citadas49

How do messages from political elites interact with individual traits of citizens to spur intergroup aggression? Building on research in social psychology, we expect that in places of protracted conflict, violent rhetoric from elites will be enough to mobilize antagonism toward an outgroup, especially among those who are generally less apt to be hostile toward the outgroup. We present results from two large survey experiments, the first conducted with young Jewish-Israeli adults across Israel and the second with a nationally diverse sample of adults in India. The results show that mild “fighting” words (e.g. “battle,” “fight”), combined with a reference to the outgroup, provoke significantly greater support for policies that harm the outgroup among some citizens. This effect is largest among individuals low in outgroup prejudice and low in aggressive personality traits, people who are usually less inclined to support policies that hurt the outgroup. Effects of violent rhetoric persist even with policies and rhetoric to help the outgroup. This work highlights the importance of considering both individual traits and contextual factors together to understand their full impact in the study of intergroup conflict

Aggression · Criminology · Group conflict · Harm · Ingroups and outgroups · Outgroup · Political science · Prejudice (legal term · Rhetoric · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence