The Role of Emotions in Discriminatory Ethno-Religious Politics: An Experimental Study of Anti-Muslim Politics in the United States
There is consensus among scholars of ethno-religious conflict that elites play a pivotal role in either starting or exacerbating intergroup conflicts by evoking negative emotions such as fear, resentment, anger, and rage in the masses. However, scholars have long based these assertions on evidence f...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2014
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| In: |
Politics, religion & ideology
Year: 2014, Volume: 15, Issue: 4, Pages: 583-603 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | There is consensus among scholars of ethno-religious conflict that elites play a pivotal role in either starting or exacerbating intergroup conflicts by evoking negative emotions such as fear, resentment, anger, and rage in the masses. However, scholars have long based these assertions on evidence from elite actions alone. Moreover, despite insights from research on nationalism about the role that positive emotions play in the process of mobilization, current research on ethno-religious conflict has focused exclusively on negative emotions. The current study addresses these gaps. Building upon symbolic politics theory and psychological theories of transformational leadership, I posit that to gain support for aggressive policies against rival groups, leaders must simultaneously evoke negative emotions associated with dislike for the rival group and positive emotions such as confidence, pride, optimism, and feeling energized. I tested this theory with an experiment that randomly exposed participants to different anti-Muslim appeals that culminated in the proposal of an array of discriminatory policies. The results suggest a causal chain. Upon hearing any anti-Muslim frame, those already holding negative attitudes about Muslims were more likely to view Muslims as a threat and experience a positive emotional response, which then led to support for discriminatory policies against Muslims. These findings suggest the way nationalist appeals are framed are much less important than pre-existing attitudes. |
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| ISSN: | 2156-7697 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Politics, religion & ideology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/21567689.2014.959504 |