Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-l4dxg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-26T21:27:11.387Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Impact of Persistent Terrorism on Political Tolerance: Israel, 1980 to 2011

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2015

MARK PEFFLEY ,
MARC L. HUTCHISON  and
MICHAL SHAMIR
MARK PEFFLEY*
Affiliation:
University of Kentucky
MARC L. HUTCHISON*
Affiliation:
University of Rhode Island
MICHAL SHAMIR*
Affiliation:
Tel-Aviv University
*
Mark Peffley is Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Kentucky, 1653 Patterson Office Tower, Lexington, KY 40506 (mpeffl@uky.edu).
Marc L. Hutchison is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Rhode Island, Washburn Hall, 80 Upper College Rd., Kingston, RI 02881 (mlhutch@uri.edu).
Michal Shamir is Professor, Department of Political Science, Tel-Aviv University, P.O. Box 39040, Tel-Aviv, Israel6997801 (m3600@post.tau.ac.il).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

How do persistent terrorist attacks influence political tolerance, a willingness to extend basic liberties to one's enemies? Studies in the U.S. and elsewhere have produced a number of valuable insights into how citizens respond to singular, massive attacks like 9/11. But they are less useful for evaluating how chronic and persistent terrorist attacks erode support for democratic values over the long haul. Our study focuses on political tolerance levels in Israel across a turbulent 30-year period, from 1980 to 2011, which allows us to distinguish the short-term impact of hundreds of terrorist attacks from the long-term influence of democratic longevity on political tolerance. We find that the corrosive influence of terrorism on political tolerance is much more powerful among Israelis who identify with the Right, who have also become much more sensitive to terrorism over time. We discuss the implications of our findings for other democracies under threat from terrorism.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 109 , Issue 4 , November 2015 , pp. 817 - 832
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Arce, Moises. 2003. “Political Violence and Presidential Approval in Peru.” Journal of Politics 65 (2): 572–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arian, Asher, Barnea, Shlomit, Ben-Nun, Pazit, Ventura, Rapheal, and Shamir, Michal. 2005. Auditing Israeli Democracy—2005: A Decade after the Assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Jerusalem: The Guttman Center at the Israel Democracy Institute.Google Scholar
Beck, Nathaniel, Katz, Jonathan N., and Tucker, Richard. 1998. “Taking Time Seriously: Time-Series-Cross-Section Analysis with a Binary Dependent Variable.” American Journal of Political Science 42 (4): 1260–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berinsky, Adam J. 2009. In Time of War: Understanding Public Opinion, From World War II to Iraq. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berrebi, Claude, and Klor, Esteban F.. 2006. “On Terrorism and Electoral Outcomes: Theory and Evidence from the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 50 (6): 899–925.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berrebi, Claude, and Klor, Esteban F.. 2008. “Are Voters Sensitive to Terrorism? Direct Evidence from the Israeli Electorate.” American Political Science Review 102 (3): 279–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooks, Clem, and Manza, Jeff. 2013. Whose Rights? Counterterrorism and the Dark Side of American Public Opinion. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Canetti-Nisim, Daphna, Ariely, Gal, and Halperin, Eran. 2008. “Life, Pocketbook, or Culture: The Role of Perceived Security Threats in Promoting Exclusionist Political Attitudes toward Minorities in Israel.” Political Research Quarterly 61 (1): 90–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canetti-Nisim, Daphna, Halperin, Eran, Sharvit, Keren, and Hobfoll, Stevan E.. 2009. “A New Stress-Based Model of Political Extremism: Personal Exposure to Terrorism, Psychological Distress, and Exclusionist Political Attitudes.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 53 (3): 363–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crenshaw, Martha. 2010. Explaining Terrorism: Causes, Processes and Consequences. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Dahl, Robert. 1971. Polyarchy. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Davis, Darren W. 2007. Negative Liberty: Public Opinion and the Terrorist Attacks on America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Duch, Raymond M., and Gibson, James L.. 1992. “Putting Up with Fascists in Western Europe: A Comparative, Cross-level Analysis of Political Tolerance.” Western Political Quarterly 45 (1): 237–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldman, Stanley. 2003. “Enforcing Social Conformity: A Theory of Authoritarianism.” Political Psychology 24 (1): 41–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldman, Stanley, and Stenner, Karen. 1997. “Perceived Threat and Authoritarianism.” Political Psychology 18 (4): 741–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Getmansky, Anna, and Zeitzoff, Thomas. 2014. “Terrorism and Voting: The Effect of Rocket Threat on Voting in Israeli Elections.” American Political Science Review 108 (3): 588–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibler, Douglas M., and Randazzo, Kirk A.. 2011. “Testing the Effects of Independent Judiciaries on the Likelihood of Democratic Backsliding.” American Journal of Political Science 55 (3): 696–709.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, James L. 1998. “Putting Up With Fellow Russians: An Analysis of Political Tolerance in the Fledgling Russian Democracy.” Political Research Quarterly 51 (1): 37–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, James L. 2006. “Enigmas of Intolerance: Fifty Years after Stouffer's Communism, Conformity, and Civil Liberties.” Perspectives on Politics 4 (1): 21–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, James L. 2007. “Political Intolerance.” In Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior, eds. Dalton, Russell J. and Klingemann, Hans-Dieter. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 323–41.Google Scholar
Gibson, James L. 2008. “Intolerance and Political Repression in the United States: A Half Century after McCarthyism.” American Journal of Political Science 52 (1): 96–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, James L. 2013. “Measuring Political Tolerance and General Support for Pro-Civil Liberties Policies: Notes, Evidence, and Cautions.” Public Opinion Quarterly 77 (1): 45–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, James L., and Gouws, Amanda. 2003. Overcoming Intolerance in South Africa: Experiments in Democratic Persuasion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Golebiowska, Ewa A. 1999. “Gender Gap in Political Tolerance.” Political Behavior 21 (1): 43–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gould, Eric D., and Klor, Esteban F.. 2010. “Does Terrorism Work?” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 125 (4): 1459–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halperin, Eran, and Bar-Tal, Daniel. 2011. “Socio-Psychological Barriers to Peace Making: An Empirical Examination within the Israeli Jewish Society.” Journal of Peace Research 48 (5): 637–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hetherington, Marc J., and Suhay, Elizabeth. 2011. “Authoritarianism, Threat, and Americans’ Support for the War on Terror.” American Journal of Political Science 55 (3): 546–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hetherington, Marc J., and Weiler, Jonathan D.. 2009. Authoritarianism and Polarization in American Politics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huddy, Leonie, and Feldman, Stanley. 2011. “Americans Respond Politically to 9/11: Understanding the Impact of the Terrorist Attacks and Their Aftermath.” American Psychologist 66 (6): 455–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huddy, Leonie, Feldman, Stanley, Taber, Charles, and Lahav, Gallya. 2005. “Threat, Anxiety, and Support for Antiterrorism Policies.” American Journal of Political Science 49 (3): 593–608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hutchison, Marc L. 2014. “Tolerating Threat? The Independent Effects of Civil Conflict on Domestic Political Tolerance.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 58 (5): 796–824.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hutchison, Marc L., and Gibler, Douglas M.. 2007. “Political Tolerance and Territorial Threat: A Cross-National Study.” Journal of Politics 69 (1): 128–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jost, John T., Glaser, Jack, Kruglanski, Arie W., and Sulloway, Frank J.. 2003. “Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition.” Psychological Bulletin 129 (3): 339–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kam, Cindy D., and Kinder, Donald R.. 2007. “Terror and Ethnocentrism: Foundations of American Support for the War on Terrorism.” Journal of Politics 69 (2): 318–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kertzer, Joshua D. 2013. “Making Sense of Isolationism: Foreign Policy Mood as a Multilevel Phenomenon.” Journal of Politics 75 (1): 225–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirschenbaum, Alan. 2005. “Adapting Behaviors of Israeli Civilians to Palestinian Terror.” In The Concept of Social Resilience, eds. Friedland, N., Arian, A., Kirschenbaum, A., and Fleisher, N.. Haifa, Israel: Samuel Neaman Institute, 36–81.Google Scholar
Luke, Douglas A. 2004. Multilevel Modeling, Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Lupia, Arthur, and Menning, Jesse O.. 2009. “When Can Politicians Scare Citizens into Supporting Bad Policies?” American Journal of Political Science, 53: 90–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malhotra, Neil, and Popp, Elizabeth. 2012. “Bridging Partisan Divisions over Antiterrorism Policies: The Role of Threat Perceptions.” Political Research Quarterly 65 (1): 34–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marcus, George E., Sullivan, John L., Theiss-Morse, Elizabeth, and Wood, Sandra L.. 1995. With Malice Toward Some: How People Make Civil Liberties Judgments. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marquart-Pyatt, Sandra, and Paxton, Pamela. 2007. “In Principle and In Practice: Learning Political Tolerance in Eastern and Western Europe.” Political Behavior 29 (1): 89–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, Monty G., and Jaggers, Keith. 2012. Polity IV Project: Political Regime Characteristics and Transitions, 1800–2012. Integrated Network for Societal Conflict Research (INSCR) Program (http://www.systemicpeace.org/polity/polity4.htm).Google Scholar
Merolla, Jennifer L., and Zechmeister, Elizabeth J.. 2009. Democracy at Risk: How Terrorist Threats Affect the Public. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). 2014. Global Terrorism Database. Data file. Available at http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd (Accessed May 1, 2014).Google Scholar
Peffley, Mark, and Rohrschneider, Robert. 2003. “Democratization and Political Tolerance in Seventeen Countries: A Multi-level Model of Democratic Learning.” Political Research Quarterly 56 (3): 243–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peleg, Ilan, and Waxman, Dov. 2011. Israel's Palestinians: The Conflict Within. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raudenbush, Stephen W., and Bryk, Anthony S.. 2002. Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods. 2nd ed. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Rohrschneider, Robert. 1996. “Institutional Learning versus Value Diffusion: The Evolution of Democratic Values among Parliamentarians in Eastern and Western Germany.” Journal of Politics 58 (2): 442–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rohrschneider, Robert. 1999. Learning Democracy: Democracy and Economic Values in Unified Germany. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shamir, Michal, and Arian, Asher. 1994. “Competing Values and Policy Choices: Israeli Public Opinion on Foreign and Security Affairs.” British Journal of Political Science 24 (2): 249–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shamir, Michal, and Sullivan, John. 1983. “The Political Context of Tolerance: The United States and Israel.” American Political Science Review 77 (4): 911–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shamir, Michal, and Weinshall-Margel, Keren 2015. “‘Your Honor, Restrain Us’—The Political Dynamics of the Right to be Elected in the Israeli Democracy.” In The Elections in Israel—2013, ed., Shamir, Michal. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishing, 59–84.Google Scholar
Sniderman, Paul M. 1975. Personality and Democratic Politics. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Sniderman, Paul M., Hagendoorn, Louk, and Prior, Markus. 2004. “Predisposing Factors and Situational Triggers: Exclusionary Reactions to Immigrant Minorities.” American Political Science Review 98 (1): 35–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sniderman, Paul M., Tetlock, Philip E., Glaser, James M., Green, Donald P., and Hout, Michael. 1989. “Principled Tolerance and the American Mass Public.” British Journal of Political Science 19 (1): 25–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stecklov, Guy, and Goldstein, Joshua R.. 2010. “Societal Responses to Endemic Terror: Evidence from Driving Behavior in Israel.” Social Forces 88 (4): 1859–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steenbergen, Marco R., and Jones, Bradford S.. 2002. “Modeling Multilevel Data Structures.” American Journal of Political Science 46 (1): 218–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stenner, Karen. 2005. The Authoritarian Dynamic. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stouffer, Samuel. 1955. Communism, Conformity, and Civil Liberties. New York: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Sullivan, John, Piereson, James, and Marcus, George E.. 1982. Political Tolerance and American Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Sullivan, John, Walsh, Patrick, Shamir, Michal, Barnum, David, and Gibson, James L.. 1993. “Why Are Politicians More Tolerant? Selective Recruitment and Socialization among Elites in New Zealand, Israel, Britain and the United States.” British Journal of Political Science 23 (1): 51–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waxman, Dov. 2011. “Living with Terror, Not Living in Terror: The Impact of Chronic Terrorism on Israeli Society.” Perspectives on Terrorism 5 (5–6): 4–26.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2014. World Development Indicators. Data file. Available at http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators (Accessed May 1, 2014).Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Peffley supplementary material

Appendix

Download Peffley supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 229.9 KB
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.