The domestic democratic peace: How democracy constrains political violence

Abstract

This article offers a systematic, longitudinal and cross-national assessment of the constraint democratic institutions place on domestic political violence. It formulates two structural equation models which allows for the examination of the relative contribution of formal institutions and political culture as sources of constraint on political violence. Institutionalized opportunities for democratic participation significantly reduce political violence; however, these institutions only realize their full potential when embedded within a deliberative political culture. This article suggests that when oppositional groups view democratic participation as meaningful, and state elites engage with their claims, these groups are inclined to behave as radical democrats rather than violent extremists.

Populism and Support for Political Violence in the United States: Assessing the Role of Grievances, Distrust of Political Institutions, Social Change Threat, and Political Illiberalism

“…Current research reinforces this contention. Veri and Sass (2022) find that lack of trust in democratic institutions and governing elites within democracies is a key ingredient that determines whether domestic political opposition movements are likely to engage in violent extremism. Empirical research by Piazza (2022) demonstrates that when individuals lose trust in democratic political institutions—namely, when they become distrustful of the validity of democratic election outcomes in the face of (unsubstantiated) allegations of election fraud by losing political parties—they are more likely to express support for the use of political violence, and instances of domestic terrorism are subsequently more likely to occur.…”