Pandemic threat and authoritarian attitudes in Europe: An empirical analysis of the exposure to COVID-19

Abstract

While analysis of the impact of threatening events has moved from bit player to center stage in political science in recent decades, the phenomenon of pandemic threat is widely neglected in terms of a systematic research agenda. Tying together insights from the behavioral immune system hypothesis and standard political science models of emotional processing, we evaluate whether exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic threat is related to authoritarian attitudes and which emotions do the work. Using 12 samples with over 12,000 respondents from six European countries at two time points (2020 and 2021), we argue that pandemic threats can generate disgust, anger, and fear. Our analyses indicate that exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic threat particularly activates fear, which in turn is linked to authoritarian attitudes.

Keywords: Affective intelligence theory, authoritarian attitudes; behavioral immune system; comparative politics; pandemic threat.

Figure 1.

Coefficient plot for the relationship between fear, anger, and disgust and authoritarian attitudes based on ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models for (a) survey 1 (November 2020 to January 2021) and (b) survey 2 (April to May 2021). Note: Estimates are based on the models reported in the Online appendix. These models include all control variables (age, sex, education, income situation, self-rated health, and left-right self-placement) and robust standard errors. Displayed are 95% (light gray bars) and 90% (black bars) confidence intervals.

Figure 2.

Coefficient plot for the relationship between fear, anger, and disgust and authoritarian subdimensions based on ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models for survey 1 (November 2020 to January 2021) and survey 2 (April to May 2021). Note: Estimates in (a), (b), and (c) use survey 1 (Nov 2020 to Jan 2021) and estimates in (d), (e), and (f) use survey 2 (April to May 2021). The base models are reported in the Online appendix and include all control variables (age, sex, education, income situation, self-rated health, and left-right self-placement) and robust standard errors. Displayed are 95% (light gray bars) and 90% (black bars) confidence intervals.