How Threats to American Identity Drive Support for Anti-democratic Behavior

• In Event: The Politics of National Identity

Abstract

APSA 2023 Proposal
Title: Understanding Threats to US Elections: How Threats to American Identity Drive Support for Anti-Democratic Behavior
Over the past few decades, the mass public has become more affectively polarized (Iyengar and Westwood 2015), increasing the likelihood of their supporting anti-democratic practices and violence against opposing partisans (Finkel et al. 2020). Indeed, the United States (US) has experienced an increase in threats against and harassment of election officials by individuals emboldened by claims of election fraud in 2020 (Day, Khan, and Loadenthal 2022; Edlin and Baker 2022) – some of whom ultimately went on to carry out the January 6th insurrection in 2021. Though support or engagement in political violence among the public is still relatively rare (Westwood, Lelkes, and Iyengar 2022), some individuals have engaged a range of anti-democratic behaviors or intimidation tactics against both election officials and voters. Some evidence suggests that these threats target non-partisan, Republican, and Democrat officials alike (So, Tanfani, and Szep 2022), implying that at least some threats are intra-partisan. As threats and harassment against election officials and voter intimidation continue, better understanding why some partisans are willing to support or engage in anti-democratic practices and violence against both opponents and even co-partisans, is important for lessening hostilities and informing violence mitigation efforts.
Previous research has found that partisan divisions based on identity increase the risk of election-related violence (Birch et al. 2020; Kleinfeld 2021). Indeed, the United States in recent years has witnessed strong partisan divisions with racial identity, religious identity (Kleinfeld; Mason 2018), and even views on American identity becoming increasingly aligned with political parties. Though American identity has previously been found to be a uniting force (Levendusky 2017), various aspects of American identity are contested – what Restad (2020) has called “identity contestation between civic and ethnic nationalism” (p.2). Donald Trump’s campaign emphasized both populism and nationalism, lending fuel to the debate about American identity that was further ignited by National Football League (NFL) player Colin Kaepernick, who refused to stand for the customary playing of the US national anthem in protest against racial injustices occurring in the United States. American National Election Studies (ANES) surveys reveal that the American public has reduced the amount of importance they place on their American identity since 2012. About 78% answered that being American is extremely or very important to their identity in 2012, which decreased to 73% in 2016 and 64% in 2020. This decrease in importance of American identity is largely driven by Democrats, who have placed less importance on their American identity over the years compared to Republicans. Differences along multiple identity dimensions, particularly partisanship and American identity, may be driving partisans to become more affectively polarized and more willing to support or engage in violence or anti-democratic behavior to harm the opposing party under the banner of their American identity. Understanding how these identity-based divisions, particularly the contestation of American identity, drive partisans’ willingness to support or engage in such behavior highlight important implications for protecting the integrity of US elections. I argue that the partisans most willing to support and engage in election-related violence and a range of anti-democratic or intimidating behaviors do so due to their strong partisanship and perceived threats to their American identity.
The purpose of this project is to investigate partisans’ willingness to support or engage in election-related violence and a range of anti-democratic behaviors if a threat to their American identity is perceived. I plan to collect data, initially with a university subject pool sample, using a survey experiment to explore how threats to partisans’ American identity influence their willingness to support and engage in a range of behaviors targeting election officials and voters of either party. Specifically, I plan to explore support for individuals who harass or threaten election officials, and willingness to engage in such behaviors, to make monetary contributions to individuals charged with such behaviors, to protest outside of officials’ homes, to sign up to participate in local ballot box monitoring events, and to poll watch in upcoming elections to prevent voter fraud. The findings will raise implications for protecting the integrity of American elections and more broadly about the role of American identity in affective polarization among the US public.

Author

• Aleena Khan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign