A01=Elizabeth J. Zechmeister
A01=Jennifer L. Merolla
attack
Author_Elizabeth J. Zechmeister
Author_Jennifer L. Merolla
authority
Category=JPHV
Category=JPWL
charismatic leaders
checks and balances
control
cult of personality
difference
electorate
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
fear
gender
government
heroism
history
law
leadership
legislation
masculinity
nonfiction
order
partisan
party affiliation
policy
politicians
politics
power
prevention
psychology
public opinion
racism
restriction
security
sociology
strength
terrorism
threats
violence
voting
Product details
- ISBN 9780226520544
- Weight: 539g
- Dimensions: 16 x 23mm
- Publication Date: 01 Oct 2009
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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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 L. Merolla and Elizabeth J. 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.
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.
