Political Attitudes Research Articles

Competing against Erdoğan, collaborating with the state: why did Kiliçdaroğlu fail as the main opposition leader in Turkey?

ABSTRACT The main argument in this article contends that a primary reason why Erdoğan has managed to stay in power in the last decade despite failure in resolving numerous social, domestic, and foreign policy crises stems from Kılıçdaroğlu’s insistence on sustaining a collaborative relationship with the state. This article chronicles Kılıçdaroğlu’s political attitude and his loss of CHP leadership in the wake of his ignominious defeat in the 2023 national elections. The article uses case examples that highlight and analyze his efforts at collaborationism during his term as the leader of the CHP.

Political Attitudes of Yemenis toward Democracy and Its Related to Mental Health

Political Attitudes of Yemenis toward Democracy and Its Related to Mental Health

The gender gap in political efficacy: the accelerating effect of classroom discussions

Abstract The gender gap in political self-efficacy originates early in life and is among the most persistent inequalities in political attitudes across Western democracies. The difficulties in accessing data for early adolescents have resulted in limited research available to provide an understanding on how gender differences in political self-efficacy are developed. In this article we provide unique evidence on the development of the efficacy gap during secondary school. The Citizenship Educational Longitudinal study data from England on young people between the ages 11–16 shows that boys increase their levels of political self-efficacy significantly during this period while girls do not. Secondly, we show that teaching methods that are expected to enable the development of internal political efficacy, such as classroom discussions, are accelerating the gender gap in perceived abilities to get engaged in politics. Our findings show that, despite having the same access to classroom discussions in schools, this experience has a positive effect in the development of political efficacy for boys but, if anything, a negative effect for girls. Furthermore, even a small number of boys in the classroom discussions appears detrimental to girls’ political efficacy.

Analysis from a policy perspective: The importance of strengthening in maritime axis policy design in Indonesia

This study analyzes the importance of strengthening the design of Indonesia’s maritime axis policy. This research uses a qualitative approach to systematically explain the dynamics and importance of strengthening world maritime policy, where the Nvivo 12 Plus tool is used to analyze data and answer the research questions posed. This research shows that Indonesia still has complex bureaucratic and institutional problems and aspects of political identity and leadership attitudes that require systematic and comprehensive improvement. Then, the draft for strengthening the maritime axis policy in Indonesia includes three policy recommendations: reformulating the focus of the maritime axis policy, comprehensive and coherent governance, and an integrated administrative framework, as well as improving the political identity and attitudes of leaders in public policy. Substantially, the relative failure of the Global Maritime Axis (GMA) policy, known as Joko Widodo’s concept of regulating the Indonesian government based on geographical location, was caused by the dominance of political factors and domestic bureaucratic problems. Apart from that, the lack of priority narratives in the maritime and development sectors means that the Indonesian government’s priorities are more oriented towards GMA infrastructure aspects and at the expense of other fundamental elements. This study encourages the Indonesian government to accelerate a more substantive GMA. However, this research needs to be expanded because the analysis results were only carried out through secondary data and focused on two important aspects of GMA. Therefore, further research is needed that explains the prospects for GMA policy in Indonesia in more detail.

Inclusion of people with disability (PWD) in the tourism workforce: a critical discourse analysis of policies and plans

Purpose This paper aims to critically examine the discourse on the disability workforce in Australian tourism policy and planning documents. Design/methodology/approach This research draws on a database of 490 Australian tourism policy and planning documents, across national, state, regional and local levels of governments, destination management organisations and peak industry bodies, to systematically examine the issues pertaining to disability workforce over the ten-year policy cycle (2013–2023), through critical discourse analysis. Findings Analysis revealed 20 of the existing 490 documents had mentions of the inclusion of people with disability (PWD) in the tourism workforce. Through critical discourse analysis, the nuances of political attitudes are evident. Tourism policies tend to exert a cautious approach towards the inclusion of PWD employment. PWD do not have a strong voice when it comes to the formation of tourism policy, especially not as members of the tourism workforce. Practical implications This research underscores an emerging call for the government’s commitment to considering the underrepresented social group of PWD in the tourism workforce. By shedding light on critical discourse analysis of the disability workforce, tourism scholars and practitioners understand the current challenges and explore opportunities to implement tangible actions for an inclusive work environment for all. Originality/value The research is novel and innovative as it critically examines the discourse of the disability workforce in the tourism sector through an institutional theory perspective. The limited emphasis of government policies on the disability workforce may result in missed opportunities to encourage meaningful employment engagement of PWD in tourism organisations. Consequently, this research contributes a tripartite model of policy recommendations that explicitly articulates the mechanisms for change that are tailored to tourism workforce and advocates for the active voices of PWD community in the policy formation process.

Authoritarianism, Political Attitudes, and Vote Choice: A Longitudinal Analysis of the British Electorate

Authoritarianism, Political Attitudes, and Vote Choice: A Longitudinal Analysis of the British Electorate

The Role of Self-Threat and Self-Affirmation in Initiation of Political Conversations

Both in their quantity and their quality, informal political conversations can provide an important bellwether for democratic health. However, not everyone is willing to participate in political conversations in all settings, and systematic imbalances in who chooses not to share political attitudes can distort perceptions of public opinion. Using data from three original surveys, including both observational and experimental analysis, we examine people’s decisions to initiate political discussions using a psychological framework of self-threat and self-affirmation. We find that political conversations pose a higher level of self-threat when disagreement is probable and the relationship with the potential discussion partner is weaker. High levels of self-threat, measured via self-reported anxiety, are associated with a lower willingness to initiate a political conversation. However, self-threat can be counteracted. While it does not reduce the anxiety associated with a threatening situation, self-affirmation increases people’s willingness to initiate a political conversation in higher threat circumstances. This suggests that efforts to find common ground or boost confidence by reflecting on non-political values could increase the pool of people willing to bring up and share their political views.

«I was in exile before leaving the country». Tunisia and the Feminist Continuities of Activism

What happened to the women who participated in the 2010-2011 Tunisian revolutions and subsequently left the country? While scholarly work has extensively delved into the engagement of the young generations who participated in these transformative times, there has been a limited attention to the experiences of women who subsequently underwent journeys of exile. This article seeks to empirically fill this gap by looking at the political trajectories of six women activists, spanning from their participations in the 2010-2011 Tunisian uprisings to their experiences in exile. Drawing on ethnographic research and life history interviews conducted between 2021 and 2023, this article shows the transformations in these activists’ political trajectories before they left the country. Furthermore, it outlines how, even in exile, queer and feminist activism has provided these women a space of engagement through a “multiple identifications” of their political attitudes and interests. Adopting a social movement approach focused on the continuities of engagement, this article contributes to two fields of the literature that have been traditionally studied in isolation: the literature on gendered borders and the literature on gendered transformations throughout revolutionary times. Finally, the article emphasises the importance of studying the transformations of meanings of engagement while analysing political continuities.

How gender shapes attitudes and concerns about immigration

ABSTRACT Gender disparities in political attitudes and behavior are widely documented. However, when it comes to immigration policy, there is a lack of consensus in existing research: some studies indicate that women are more opposed to accommodating immigrants than men, while others suggest the contrary or find no significant gender difference. In an effort to shed light on these conflicting findings, this paper focuses on gendered differences in how individuals perceive and cultivate concerns about immigrants. We argue that gender plays a crucial role in how misconceptions about immigrants activate concerns about immigrants. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a pre-registered survey experiment in the Netherlands, in which we randomly varied participants' perceptions of the characteristics of the immigrant population. Our results offer suggestive evidence consistent with previous findings: altering immigrant perceptions did not significantly impact immigration policy preferences of either gender. However, perceiving immigrants as more in need did affect individuals' concerns about immigrants: we found that revised perceptions led men, but not women, to feel less morally obligated to accommodate immigrants.

On the political values and preferences of the student youth in Kazakhstan

According to Ronald Inglehart’s theory of modernization, values change following economic development. There are discussions about the transformation of the political values of the population in the Kazakh scientific community. A number of studies claim that values in Kazakhstan are moving from traditional to secular – rational. Both traditionalist and modernist values are intertwined in the mass consciousness. At the same time, it is difficult to talk about the dominance of certain political values, beliefs and attitudes. Based on the conducted sociological survey (N = 616) and a focus group discussion, the political values of Kazakhstani youth are analyzed. The role of politics in the value orientation of modern student youth is determined, the level of political activity is analyzed. The main reasons for the exclusion of young people from political participation have been established. The tendency of non-institutional political activity is revealed, confirming the theory of changing forms of political participation of modern youth.

Disgust proneness influences the effects of political orientation on xenophobia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although political conservatism has been associated with xenophobia, the processes that may explain this link during the COVID-19 pandemic are unclear. Xenophobia does increase during infectious disease outbreaks, suggesting an adaptation for those concerned about disease threats. Given that disgust facilitates disease avoidance, the present study examined the extent to which disgust proneness (DP) moderated the association between political conservatism and xenophobia during the pandemic. Community participants (n = 277) reporting their political orientation and levels of DP on May 27, 2020 completed measures of COVID-19 xenophobia and COVID-19 anxiety every 2 weeks for a total of 15 timepoints over 30 weeks. Multilevel models revealed that xenophobia was elevated among those high in DP but decreased throughout the pandemic. Xenophobia was also elevated among conservatives but also decreased during the pandemic. Consistent with predictions, DP moderated the effect of political orientation on xenophobia such that at high (but not low) levels of DP, the link between political orientation and xenophobia was significant, with higher levels of conservativism predicting higher xenophobia even when controlling for COVID-19 anxiety. The implications of the present findings for conceptualizing the various processes that explain how political attitudes may fuel xenophobia during future pandemics are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Remembering the counterrevolution: disappointment, denial, and demobilization

ABSTRACT While scholars carefully study when revolutions succeed and how they are overturned, far less attention has been paid to the public’s experience of revolution and counterrevolution as well as their subsequent effect on political attitudes and behaviour. We explore this question in Egypt, an important contemporary case of successful revolution in 2011 that was then reversed in a 2013 counterrevolution. We analyse data from an experiment embedded in a nationally representative survey that randomly primed one third of respondents to remember the country’s 2011 revolutionary uprising, another third to remember the 2013 counterrevolutionary coup, and a final third that served as a pure control. Those asked to remember the coup report significantly lower levels of trust, feelings of voter efficacy, and participation in future elections and protest behaviours. Additional analyses demonstrate that how people remember the revolution and its reversal matters. First, those who reported feeling most disappointed by the events they were asked to recall were most affected by the primes. In addition, those who frequently consume state media, where the revolution has been alternately demonized and erased, were most demobilized by the primes. Our findings contribute to growing literatures on the political effects of collective memory, emotions and state-controlled media on politics.

The Psychology of Consumer Behavior during Economic Recessions and its Impact on Political Attitudes

This study examines the intricate relationship between consumer behavior during economic recessions and subsequent shifts in political attitudes. Using quantitative and qualitative study, we analyzed data from 1,000 participants across diverse demographic groups during the 2008 and 2020 economic downturns. Our findings reveal significant correlations between changes in consumer spending patterns, psychological factors such as risk aversion and economic anxiety, and evolving political ideologies. The results suggest that economic hardships lead to increased conservative fiscal attitudes and a preference for protectionist policies. This research contributes to our understanding of the complex interplay between economic conditions, consumer psychology, and political landscape, offering insights for policymakers, marketers, and social scientists.

Governance and subjective well-being in the Countries of the Andean Community (CAN)

This study presents an analysis of the relationship between governance and subjective well-being in the Andean Community of Nations. The analyzed data is sourced from the World Values Survey of Wave 7. A quantitative approach was employed to investigate perceptions and political attitudes in the region. It highlights a positive, albeit slight, connection between subjective well-being and governmental trust, along with the positive influence of perception on wealth redistribution in well-being. Despite receiving subsidies, the unemployed consistently exhibit lower satisfaction levels. Significant associations were identified between governmental trust and opinions on wealth redistribution and surveillance. Additionally, political interest is positively correlated with the preference for men to excel in politics, indicating disparities in attitudes toward gender equality. These findings underscore the complex interaction between governance, well-being, and political perceptions in the Andean region.

Social-Ecological Correlates of Social Well-Being in Transgender and Gender Diverse Adults in the USA: Implications for Policy, Theory, and Research

Abstract Introduction Emerging transgender and gender diverse (TGD) health models focus on social well-being. The present study contributes to this movement through investigation of hate crime statutes, state-level political and anti-TGD attitudes, and multiple marginalized identities as correlates of social well-being (i.e., outness, community connection, and workplace and familial support). Methods The current study merged data from three sources: (a) the 2015 United States Transgender Survey (USTS), (b) the 2014 and 2018 Cooperative Congressional Election Studies (CCES), and (c) the 2018 Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Hate Crime Map. Bivariate (e.g., chi-square) and regression analyses were used to identify correlates of social well-being among TGD adults in the USA. Results All types of hate crime laws showed bivariate protective associations for outness and family support. Regression models showed that several marginalized identities (e.g., having a disability) were the most consistent and largest correlates of social well-being. Higher state-level anti-TGD attitudes were linked with lower familial support and outness. The presence of state-level hate crime law civil action and police training statutes was positively associated with outness. Conclusions The results extend the limited research on correlates of TGD social well-being. Findings support TGD health models addressing resilience and social safety. Future research should address hate crime law policy analysis, police training evaluation, and prospective testing of TGD social well-being. Policy Implications Hate crime laws, in particular civil action and police training statutes, may be associated with better outcomes for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) persons. Evaluation of hate crime law effectiveness may need to focus on implementation as opposed to mere presence of laws. Policies specific to police training should include guidelines for training content and rigorous evaluation.

Constitutional enshrinement as a way of safeguarding abortion rights: The case of France

France's landmark constitutional amendment in 2024 enshrines abortion freedom in its supreme legal framework, representing a profound milestone against the backdrop of shifting global political and social attitudes toward abortion. This decision, influenced by disruptive events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the overturning of constitutional abortion rights in the United States, places France to the forefront of protecting abortion access. Despite ongoing challenges in accessing services in certain areas and circumstances, this amendment sets a precedent for other nations considering similar protections. We offer key insights into this case and reflect on how it can potentially shape legislative trends in abortion rights worldwide.

Friendship and the Common Good in Julius Caesar

Abstract This essay proposes a new reading of Julius Caesar’s account of friendship that also illuminates Shakespeare’s broader communitarian political attitudes. It argues that the ‘quarrel’ (or reconciliation) scene between Brutus and Cassius presents a crucial turn in the play’s closely meditated account of amity. This sheds new light on Shakespeare’s response to two classical sources: Cicero’s De Amicitia and Euripides’ Iphigenia at Aulius, whose opening provides the model for this sequence. The significance of how Brutus and Cassius settle their differences, as well as their refusal to believe the enemy is always occulted within the friend, has been under-estimated. The high-minded ideals of Ciceronian amicitia seem wildly remote from the play’s exposure of how friendship works in political life. We witness it being made serviceable to ambitions and held in bad faith: Cicero acknowledges these possibilities too. Yet the neglected later sequences of Julius Caesar tell a different story about friendship that emphasizes its role in promoting commonalty and reconciliation. The tragedy lies in the loss of this potential.

Asymmetric affective polarization regarding COVID-19 vaccination in six European countries

While recent research has shown that supporters and opponents of COVID-19 vaccination have polarizing political attitudes and beliefs, we lack a thorough understanding of how these two groups think about each other. To investigate the feelings and stereotypes between supporters and opponents of COVID-19 vaccination, this study draws on cross-sectional survey data from six European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom), collected between January and March 2022 (n = 6379). Our findings indicate an opinion-based affective polarization between supporters and opponents of COVID-19 vaccination. Both groups not only adopt different positions on the issue but also display dynamics of in-group favoritism and out-group hostility. Most notably, our assessment of thermometer scores and character trait ratings shows that this affective polarization is asymmetric, as it is stronger among the pro-vaccination group. Our findings are critical to the control of infectious diseases because affective polarization has been shown to influence health behaviors such as compliance with government policies. The issue is even more pressing as globalization boosts the threat of pandemic emergence and accelerates the global transmission of diseases.

Moral trade-offs reveal foundational representations that predict unique variance in political attitudes.

Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) explains variation in moral judgements on the basis of multiple innate, intuitive foundations and has been subject to criticism over recent years. Prior research has tended to rely on explicit self-report in the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ). In contrast, we seek to capture intuitive choices between foundations in a novel task - the Moral Foundations Conflict Task (MFCT). Across four studies, responses on this task reflect foundations measured by the MFQ (study 1), are not altered under cognitive load or reduced cognitive control (studies 2a and 2b); and explain unique variance in political orientation and related constructs (study 3). Furthermore, using responses and response times generated on the MFCT, we present a computationally explicit model of foundation-related intuitive judgements and show that these patterns are consistent with the theoretical claims of MFT. These findings show that the MFCT outperforms the MFQ and can contribute to the understanding of moral value conflicts, furthering debate on the nature of moral values.

Words and Attitudes of the Heart: The Emotional Content of Christian Nationalist Communications

Christian nationalism has emerged as an important component of the relationship between religious identities and political attitudes. While several studies have analyzed the constellation of Christian nationalist elites and the effects of Christian nationalist orientations on public opinion, to date no study has explored how Christian nationalist elites message to the public or what effects these messages have. Moreover, the current literature lacks comparisons of Christian nationalism to other similar orientations. This study uses content analysis to compare the content and use of emotion language of Facebook messages of Christian nationalist, Christian Christian nationalism (CN) opposition, and patriotic groups. I find that these groups focus posts on issues that are stereotypical to the group identity, and that the use of emotion language differs by topic and group type. Additionally, groups’ use of emotion language shifts the emotional responses of readers, especially in Christian nationalist groups. This study adds to our understanding of the role of emotion in social media communications and the effects of social media communications on readers.