Legitimacy on Trial: Terrorism's Divergent Impact on Police Perceptions

• In Event: 40821 - Community and Urban Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 3. Crime and policing

Abstract

Research has generally associated terrorist attacks with the rally effect, although this has predominantly drawn on evidence from Western liberal democracies. Recent studies challenge the generalizability of this response, promoting a deeper exploration into how terrorist attacks can shape attitudes across contexts. When considering the effect of terrorism on attitudes towards the police, it is important to consider how these attitudes operate differently in other contexts, as this may determine the impact that a terrorist attack has on public attitudes. This study exploits the overlap between the European Social Survey and terrorist attacks, offering a comparative analysis of terrorist attacks in a liberal democracy (Sweden) and a competitive authoritarian regime (Russia). Findings suggest that a surge in support for police occurred after the Stockholm bombing in Sweden, consistent with a rally effect; however, after the Domodedovo Airport bombing in Russia, attitudes deteriorated. Rather than attributing differences in the effect to variations in attacks alone, in the present study, I argue that the nature of policing and structure of legitimacy play a crucial role in shaping public reactions as they relate to police.

Author

• Felix Matthew Enterkin, Northwestern University