Wait and See? Public Opinion Dynamics after Terrorist Attacks

Epifanio, Mariaelisa ORCID: 0000-0003-1772-5043, Giani, Marco and Ivandic, Ria (2023) Wait and See? Public Opinion Dynamics after Terrorist Attacks. JOURNAL OF POLITICS, 85 (3). pp. 843-859.

Text JoPsubmissionRR-FINAL_LiverpoolElements.pdf - Author Accepted Manuscript Access to this file is embargoed until 5 June 2024. Download (6MB)

Abstract

We use the occurrence of the London bombings on July 7, 2005, during the fieldwork period of the British Social Attitudes Survey to analyze the dynamics of public support for measures curbing core freedoms. We observe little change in public attitudes toward counterterrorist policies in the first week after the attack. Approval of infringements on privacy and procedural rights surges in the following weeks before stabilizing at an increased level in the medium run. Our findings indicate that, when it comes to restrictive counterterrorist measures, the public adopts a wait-and-see attitude rather than reacting in fear. Ancillary analyses suggest that the media may be the source of attitudinal changes on policies curtailing civil liberties.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	counterterrorism policies, security, civil liberties, media influence
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	30 Aug 2022 09:27
Last Modified:	29 Feb 2024 14:35
DOI:	10.1086/723978
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3162703