Political Violence in Democracies

The erosion of democratic norms is visible in declining support for democratic governance, increasing political distrust, growing polarization, and support for radical populist parties that openly embrace anti-pluralist and authoritarian ideas. These trends also present a real and growing threat of political violence, as the 2021 Capitol riots to violently
overturn the results of the US presidential election remind us. Yet, whereas processes of democratic decline have been the subject of much scholarly attention, the role of violence as a distinct cause and consequence in this process is not well understood.

This research project opens up a new line of inquiry by focusing on the relationship between democratic erosion and political violence in advanced democracies. It advances the field by exploring two interrelated questions: i)under what conditions do citizens support political violence? and ii) how does violence, in turn, perpetuate or restrain processes of democratic erosion? Central to the project is understanding the interplay between citizens’ democratic discontent and elite rhetoric in shaping both perceptions of the permissibility of violence and the effects of violence on shifts in public opinion and democratic processes.

The project combines survey-experimental evidence from several democratic countries with a diverse range of observational data on political violence, public opinion, voting behavior, and elite and citizen online discourse. Combining novel theorizing with an ambitious empirical approach, the project will break new scientific ground, answering questions crucial for gauging the implications of the current backlash against democracy for civil peace and what a growing threat of extremist violence could entail for processes of democratic erosion.