Talk:
\n\u201cUnderstanding and Addressing Citizens\u2019 Support for Violence Against Politicians? Evidence from Survey Experiments in Belgium and France\u201d<\/p>\n
by
\nDamien Bol
\nCenter for Political Research (CEVIPOF)
\nSciences Po, Paris
\ndamien.bol@sciencespo.fr<\/p>\n
Date and Room Info
\nThursday, October 30, 2025, 12:30 p.m.
\nA-130<\/p>\n
Abstract<\/p>\n
Classic theories of state formation and democratization emphasize curbing civilian violence to consolidate the state\u2019s monopoly on legitimate force and its capacity to peacefully resolve conflicts through elections. Yet rising affective polarization, aggressive elite rhetoric, and anonymous social platforms have renewed fears of violence between out-partisans. We examine individual support for violence against politicians using two pre-registered survey experiments in France and Belgium that manipulate politician characteristics and violence\u2019s severity. We find that such attitudes remain rare, although they are significant for online verbal abuse. Moreover, violent attitudes are largely unrelated to affective polarization, as they are diffusely directed at politicians regardless of their characteristics. Finally, we show that simple interventions (humanizing politicians through perspective-taking or stressing the importance of ideological pluralism for democracy) reduce support for mild forms of political violence. These findings suggest that protecting democratic institutions requires addressing diffuse societal predispositions to violence beyond partisan divides.<\/p>\n
Short Bio<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a Professor at CEVIPOF, Sciences Po Paris. Before that, I was a (tenured) Professor in the Department of Political Economy of King\u2019s College London. I\u2019m a political scientist by training, but I frequently collaborate with economists trying to bridge the two disciplines. Political scientists would say that I\u2019m a rational choice analyst, but economists would say that I\u2019m a behaviorist. My research explores how people experience representative democracy, both from a micro and comparative perspective. I\u2019m especially interested in citizens\u2019 attitudes toward democratic values and institutions, including electoral systems and deliberative assemblies. I\u2019ve also worked on more classic topics like political parties, voting, and the like. Methodologically, I rely heavily on experiments and surveys, often conducted in Belgium, Canada, France, and the UK, which are my main countries of expertise. I also sometimes write about how to improve these methods, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Talk: \u201cUnderstanding and Addressing Citizens\u2019 Support for Violence Against Politicians? Evidence from Survey Experiments in Belgium and France\u201d by Damien Bol Center for Political Research (CEVIPOF) Sciences Po, Paris damien.bol@sciencespo.fr Date and Room Info Thursday, October 30, 2025, 12:30 p.m. A-130 Abstract Classic theories of state formation and democratization emphasize [\u2026] <\/p>\n