Democracy at Risk: How Terrorist Threats Affect the Public - Brossura

Merolla, Jennifer L.; Zechmeister, Elizabeth J.

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0226520552 ISBN 13: 9780226520551

Casa editrice: University of Chicago Press, 2009

Riassunto

How do threats of terrorism affect the opinions of citizens? Speculation abounds, but until now no one had marshaled hard evidence to explain the complexities of this relationship. Drawing on data from surveys and original experiments they conducted in the United States and Mexico, Jennifer Merolla and Elizabeth Zechmeister demonstrate how our strategies for coping with terrorist threats significantly influence our attitudes toward fellow citizens, political leaders, and foreign nations.

The authors reveal, for example, that some people try to restore a sense of order and control through increased wariness of others—especially of those who exist outside the societal mainstream. Additionally, voters under threat tend to prize “strong leadership” more highly than partisan affiliation, making some politicians seem more charismatic than they otherwise would. The authors show that a wary public will sometimes continue to empower such leaders after they have been elected, giving them greater authority even at the expense of institutional checks and balances. Having demonstrated that a climate of terrorist threat also increases support for restrictive laws at home and engagement against terrorists abroad, Merolla and Zechmeister conclude that our responses to such threats can put democracy at risk.

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Informazioni sull?autore

Jennifer L. Merolla is the Mary Nicolai&;George Blair Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and Policy at Claremont Graduate University. Elizabeth J. Zechmeister is assistant professor of political science at Vanderbilt University.

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: University of Chicago Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2009
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0226520552
• ISBN 13: 9780226520551
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 280
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: non disponibile