Positive associations between anomia and intentions to engage in political violence: Cross-cultural evidence from four countries.

Abstract

Psychological research suggests that politically motivated violence (e.g., terrorism) partially stems from existential motives, and more specifically from individuals’ need to achieve significance in life (Significance Quest Theory [SQT]; Kruglanski et al., 2014). Interestingly, sociological research has established similar findings linking anomia—a syndrome including feelings of meaninglessness, powerlessness, isolation, self-estrangement and normlessness—with violent behavior. In line with SQT, the present contribution aimed to test for the first time if anomia could be linked with political violence. Results from a study conducted in four countries (Brazil, Turkey, Belgium, and France; N = 1,240) supported this hypothesis by revealing a consistent, small-to-medium-sized positive correlation between anomia and intentions to display political violence (r = .21, 95% CI [.14, .28]) among undergraduate samples. This link held across countries, independently of political ideology. These results highlight the theoretical and practical usefulness of considering the role of anomia in explaining violent political behavior.

“Macron demission!”: Loss of significance generates violent extremism for the Yellow Vests through feelings of anomia

“…Also, we were able to replicate the findings of Troian et al (2019) regarding the link between anomia and political violence intentions, while providing further evidence for considering the role of feelings of anomia as a key mediator of existential threats' effects on violent extremism. The present research aimed to understand the mechanisms at play behind violent actions with respect to the Yellow Vest protests.…”

“…Terms like 'social breakdown', 'violent reforms', 'scribbled politic' 6 , and the reactions of unions from different sectors (public, private) all illustrated feelings of despair and loss of dignity experienced by the French. These reforms, perceived as threatening by a majority of French (as indicated by the still > 50% of public opinion in favor of the YV, IFPSOS, 2019), along with the perceived 'despising', 'arrogant' attitude of the French president may have contributed to increases in violent actions during the YV protests (Kruglanski & Orehek, 2011;Stürmer, Rohmann, Froehlich, & van der Noll, 2017;Troian et al, 2019;Webber et al, 2017). Many protesters from middle-class individuals, expressed that they felt contempt from urban elites 7 .…”

“…It is widespread around the world, across the ideological spectrum, and the use of violence to achieve political goals has been a renewed focus of research in the last two decades. Political violence serves to restore a sense of meaning, control, justice, honor, and dignity in the face of perceived threats and humiliations (Kruglanski & Orehek, 2011; Troian et al, 2019; Webber et al, 2018). Individuals will engage in political violence depending on its prevalence in their own social network (Sageman, 2004), their exposure to legitimization of political violence (Atran, 2016), and their motivation to search for a significant purpose in life (Kruglanski et al, 2014).…”

“…We argue that these could help make sense of YV-related violence. In fact, significance/meaning is just one of five existential concerns that make up a very potent construct for understanding violent extremism: anomia (see Troian et al, 2019).…”

“…Anomia is defined as a psychological state including feelings of meaninglessness, powerlessness, social isolation, normlessness, and self-estrangement (H. P. Smith & Bohm, 2008; Troian et al, 2019). A recent study run in Turkey, France, Belgium, and Brazil by Troian et al (2019) showed that, in line with significance quest theory and findings from the experimental existential psychology literature (e.g., Xu & McGregor, 2018), anomia is a predictor of violent extremism independently of participants’ political orientation.…”