Who Dissents? Self Efficacy and Opposition Action After Election Violence

• In Event: New Directions in the Study of Emotions and Violence

Abstract

Reactions to acts of state-sponsored election violence vary greatly across individuals and over time. This article develops a theory that the psychological characteristic of self efficacy moderates citizens’ reactions to state-sponsored election violence. I use data from an original survey and in-depth qualitative interviews with opposition supporters in Zimbabwe to illustrate and test this hypothesis. I find that self-efficacy is a strong predictor of intention to take action in support of the opposition after violence and is related to the emotional reactions that citizens have after violent events. Opposition supporters who are higher in self efficacy are also particularly likely to take action after more severe violent events. Self efficacy is a better predictor of reactions to repression than other prominent explanations in the literature including strength of party identification.

Author

• Lauren E Young, University of California, Davis