He is not one of U.S.: partisanship, perceptions of anti-Americanism & their consequences for democracy

American identity has always been contested, but it has become deeply intertwined with contemporary partisan politics in the United States (U.S.). Debates over who truly counts as “American” and what values define the nation are not new, but in an era of intensifying affective polarization, social sorting, and rising threats and harassment targeting public officials, these debates can shape the lens through which citizens view their fellow Americans, evaluate political elites, and form their political attitudes. Yet we know relatively little about who and what ordinary citizens view as threatening to national identity within the United States and how those judgments matter for democracy. This dissertation addresses that gap by investigating (1) how citizens define anti-Americanism, (2) which Americans are most likely to perceive it, and (3) how those perceptions shape inter- and intra-party support for hostility, anti-democratic behavior, and political violence. Using a mixed-methods design that includes exploratory studies, national surveys, and pre-registered survey experiments, I show that partisans hold different understandings of anti-Americanism. Democrats tend to emphasize violations of democratic norms and civil liberties, whereas Republicans focus more on loyalty, patriotism, and respect for the nation. Beyond partisanship, psychological and political orientations—system justification, populism, affective polarization, and social-dominance orientation—consistently increase perceived threat to national identity, revealing patterns in who is likely to perceive anti-Americanism. I further demonstrate that out-party elites who violate national identity norms drive perceptions of anti-Americanism, yet, on average, do not increase support for violence or anti-democratic attitudes toward the out-party. In contrast, I find that partisans socially sanction co-partisan supporters of deviant elites—whose rhetoric violates their party’s vision of America—by socially distancing themselves. These patterns show how national identity threats can harm intra-party cohesion without necessarily escalating to violence. The dissertation concludes by considering the implications of these dynamics for inter- and intra-party relations and for democracy in the United States.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Political Science

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Khan, Aleena

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ksiazkiewicz, Aleksander
• Rudolph, Thomas J
• Wong, Cara J
• Khoury, Rana B

• Anti-Americanism
• Violence
• Threats
• Partisanship

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2025 Aleena Khan

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132672

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/132672