Public Opinion on Political Violence

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

What drives public opinion on political violence? From public attitudes on human rights violations to emotional responses toward terrorism attacks, how individuals respond to political violence have important implications for domestic and international politics in the world today. How does the identity of a human rights victim shape individual attitudes of perpetrators of human rights violations? What affect does compliance with the laws of war have on individual attitudes of foreign armed groups? How does the labeling of protesters as criminal and/or members of fringe groups influence support for repression? What affect does the identity of a terrorist have on the public’s emotional response to terrorism attacks? This panel brings together researchers in International Relations and Political Psychology that are using survey experiments to analyze important questions on the causes, dynamics and consequences of public opinion on political violence.

Sub Unit

• Division 21: Conflict Processes

Individual Presentations

• Who Cares About Whom? Public Attitudes Toward Abusing Human Rights - Rebecca Elizabeth Cordell, University of Texas at Dallas

• The Enemy of My Enemy: Anger & the Polarizing Nature of White Terrorism - Carly Nicole Wayne, Washington University in St. Louis

• Source and Labeling Effects in Government Response to Protest - Daniel Arnon, Emory University; Pearce Edwards, Carnegie Mellon University; Handi Li, Emory University

Chair

• Rebecca Elizabeth Cordell University of Texas at Dallas

Discussants

• Joshua D. Kertzer Harvard University

• Christopher F. Gelpi Ohio State University