The Authoritarian Dynamic During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects on Nationalism and Anti-Immigrant Sentiment
Open accessAbstract
Research has demonstrated that situational factors such as perceived threats to the social order activate latent authoritarianism. The deadly COVID-19 pandemic presents a rare opportunity to test whether existential threat stemming from an indiscriminate virus moderates the relationship between authoritarianism and political attitudes toward the nation and out-groups. Using data from two large nationally representative samples of adults in the United Kingdom ( N = 2,025) and Republic of Ireland ( N = 1,041) collected during the initial phases of strict lockdown measures in both countries, we find that the associations between right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and (1) nationalism and (2) anti-immigrant attitudes are conditional on levels of perceived threat. As anxiety about the COVID-19 pandemic increases, so too does the effect of RWA on those political outcomes. Thus, it appears that existential threats to humanity from the COVID-19 pandemic moderate expressions of authoritarianism in society.
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Cites
Understanding Interaction Models: Improving Empirical Analyses
Brambor, T., Clark, W. R., & Golder, M. (2006) · Political Analysis · doi:10.1093/pan/mpi014 · Cited by 6,223 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Scholars recommend that conditional effects are calculated from the marginal effect at every observed value of the moderator; in this case, COVID-19 anxiety, to properly interpret interactions (e.g., see Berry et al., 2012; Brambor et al., 2006).”
MethodThreat, authoritarianism, and selective exposure to information
Lavine, H., Lodge, M., & Freitas, K. (2005) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9221.2005.00416.x · Cited by 227 · see citing works
Effects of right-wing authoritarianism and threat from terrorism on restriction of civil liberties
Cohrs, J. C., Kielmann, S., Maes, J., & Moschner, B. (2005) · Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy · doi:10.1111/j.1530-2415.2005.00071.x · Cited by 173 · see citing works
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Prejudice and Discrimination Toward Immigrants
Esses, V. M. (2021) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-080520-102803 · Cited by 273 · see citing works
Bentall, R. P., Lloyd, A., Bennett, K., McKay, R., Mason, L., Murphy, J., McBride, O., Hartman, T. K., Gibson-Miller, J., Levita, L., et al. (2021) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0246339 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Hartman, T. K., Stocks, T. V. A., McKay, R., Gibson-Miller, J., Levita, L., Martinez, A. P., Mason, L., McBride, O., Murphy, J., Shevlin, M., Bennett, K. M., Hyland, P., Karatzias, T., Vallières, F., & Bentall, R. P.
- Affiliations
- University of Sheffield (GB)
- Royal Holloway University of London (GB)
- The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
- University College London (GB)
- University of Ulster (GB)
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- National University of Ireland, Maynooth (IE)
- Edinburgh Napier University (GB)
- Trinity College Dublin (IE)
- Corresponding author
- Hartman, Todd K.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Social Psychological and Personality Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2021-01-11
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1274-1285
- ISSN
- 1948-5506 (ISSN-L)
- 1948-5514
- OpenAlex
- W3027568205
- Cited by
- 97
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 27.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Social Psychological and Personality Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Edinburgh Napier Research Repository (Edinburgh Napier University) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
- Maynooth University ePrints and eTheses Archive (Maynooth University) (acceptedVersion)
- Research Output (Edinburgh Napier University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Ulster University Research Portal (Ulster University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- university of sheffield
- ulster university
- economic and social research council
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Populism, Right-Wing Movements
- Keywords
- right-wing authoritarianism, COVID-19 pandemic, nationalism, anti-immigrant sentiment, threat perception, existential risk, lockdown, political attitudes, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland
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