Social dominance orientation,fear of terrorism and support for counter-terrorism policies |
| |
Authors: | Margarita Vorsina Jill Sheppard Christopher M. Fleming |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia;2. School of Politics and International Relations, The Australian National University, Acton, Australia;3. Griffith Business School, Griffith University, South Brisbane, Australia |
| |
Abstract: | Following September 11 and the subsequent heightened fear of terrorism from more recent events, this study examines the role of Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) in explaining individuals’ support for counter-terrorism policies that infringe individual liberties in pursuit of defending community security. Three hypotheses are proposed: (1) that SDO positively predicts support for ‘defensive’ counter-terrorism policies such as the maintenance of strong border protection; (2) that SDO positively predicts fear of terrorism and fear of Islamic extremism; (3) that the relationship between SDO and support for defensive policies is mediated by fear. The hypotheses are tested on a sample of 1200 Australian adults, with support found for each hypothesis. Counter-terrorism policies commonly encounter trade-offs between community-wide security and individual-level liberties; pursuit of optimal security tends to require infringement of those liberties. This research demonstrates that high SDO citizens will support such policies, particularly as fear increases. |
| |
Keywords: | Counter terrorism social dominance orientation fear of terrorism Islamic extremism Australian policy |
|
|