The rise of authoritarianism in the United States has frequently been touted as an impossibility in the face of long-standing democratic institutions and processes. Yet recent trends in American political behavior suggest that this is not the case, that authoritarian behaviors can in fact be facilitated through these means. This study is concerned with measuring the prevalence of authoritarian attitudes among Americans, asking the key question, “Did authoritarianism play a role in the 2020 election?”, followed by an investigation into the extent of this effect. Logistic regression using 2020 ANES data is employed to predict 2020 presidential vote choice among white respondents, with particular focus on the sociopolitical conditions surrounding the election and the issues with which authoritarianism has been consistently associated.
","abstract_html":"<p>The rise of authoritarianism in the United States has frequently been touted as an impossibility in the face of long-standing democratic institutions and processes. Yet recent trends in American political behavior suggest that this is not the case, that authoritarian behaviors can in fact be facilitated through these means. This study is concerned with measuring the prevalence of authoritarian attitudes among Americans, asking the key question, “Did authoritarianism play a role in the 2020 election?”, followed by an investigation into the extent of this effect. Logistic regression using 2020 ANES data is employed to predict 2020 presidential vote choice among white respondents, with particular focus on the sociopolitical conditions surrounding the election and the issues with which authoritarianism has been consistently associated.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Vigil, Brandon"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master","degree_discipline":"Political Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Michael Fortner"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:00:13Z","subjects":["Political Science","authoritarianism","election","2020"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4433","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Michael Fortner"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Vigil, Brandon"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-06-03T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Political Science","authoritarianism","election","2020"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4433"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The rise of authoritarianism in the United States has frequently been touted as an impossibility in the face of long-standing democratic institutions and processes. Yet recent trends in American political behavior suggest that this is not the case, that authoritarian behaviors can in fact be facilitated through these means. This study is concerned with measuring the prevalence of authoritarian attitudes among Americans, asking the key question, “Did authoritarianism play a role in the 2020 election?”, followed by an investigation into the extent of this effect. Logistic regression using 2020 ANES data is employed to predict 2020 presidential vote choice among white respondents, with particular focus on the sociopolitical conditions surrounding the election and the issues with which authoritarianism has been consistently associated.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Role of Authoritarianism in the 2020 Election"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Michael Fortner"],"dc:creator":["Vigil, Brandon"],"dc:date.available":["2023-06-03T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The rise of authoritarianism in the United States has frequently been touted as an impossibility in the face of long-standing democratic institutions and processes. Yet recent trends in American political behavior suggest that this is not the case, that authoritarian behaviors can in fact be facilitated through these means. This study is concerned with measuring the prevalence of authoritarian attitudes among Americans, asking the key question, “Did authoritarianism play a role in the 2020 election?”, followed by an investigation into the extent of this effect. Logistic regression using 2020 ANES data is employed to predict 2020 presidential vote choice among white respondents, with particular focus on the sociopolitical conditions surrounding the election and the issues with which authoritarianism has been consistently associated.
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