Direct and Indirect Effects of Authoritarianism on Policy Preferences in Canada

Authoritarianism, as a value orientation that prioritizes conformity over autonomy, is a popular explanation for political preferences and behaviour but it is misunderstood as existing only on the right; as either an all-powerful or insignificant predictor of policy preferences; and as a predisposition that is activated by threat. Our understanding of it is further hampered by a lack of research outside of the United States. I address these problems by constructing a model where authoritarian values, moderated by perceived threat, exert a direct effect on policy preferences and indirect effects through prejudice, ideology, and partisanship. Testing this model on data from the Canadian Election Study, I find evidence that authoritarianism cuts across the political spectrum; is not activated by threat, but rather has greater effects in the absence of threat; and is partially mediated by prejudice and ideology. This shines a new light on some Canadian policy debates (especially the banning of religious facial coverings) and replicates previous American findings.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Political Science

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Arts

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Santos, John Bernard

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Thomas, Melanee Lynn

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Stewart, David K.
• Tuxhorn, Kim Lee

• authoritarianism
• political behaviour
• public opinion
• political psychology
• Canadian Politics

Statement dc:rights

• University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.

Language dc:language.iso

eng

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/33072

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/108719