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Populism predicts sympathy for attacks against asylum seekers through national pride and moral justification of political violence

Populism predicts sympathy for attacks against asylum seekers through national pride and moral justification of political violence

Uysal, Mete Sefa, Hoerst, Carina, Stathi, Sofia ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1218-5239 and Kessler, Thomas (2023) Populism predicts sympathy for attacks against asylum seekers through national pride and moral justification of political violence. Social Psychological and Personality Science. ISSN 1948-5506 (Print), 1948-5514 (Online) (doi:10.1177/19485506231151759)

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Abstract

Right-wing populism that had been considered fringe just a few years ago became gradually more mainstream. Given the epidemic impact of divisive populist rhetoric on hostile behavior and its strong association with anti-immigration, it is important to ask whether people endorsing populism also justify attacks against asylum seekers. Using the German General Social Survey data (N = 3268), we tested a model in which the endorsement of populist beliefs predicted sympathy for attacks against asylum seekers in Germany, through national pride and moral justification of political violence. Results showed that people who evinced higher endorsement of populist beliefs showed also higher sympathy for attacks against asylum seekers. Furthermore, national pride and moral justification of political violence mediated the relationship between populist beliefs and sympathy for attacks against asylum seekers. The role of right-wing populism in the justification of violence towards outgroups is discussed within a contemporary social psychological framework.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: right-wing populism; hate crimes; national pride; moral justification; political violence; anti-immigration
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences
Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development
Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development > Centre for Inequalities
Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Human Sciences (HUM)
Last Modified: 07 Feb 2023 11:54
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/38388

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