De stilte voor de storm? Een onderzoek naar tolerantie jegens politiek geweld

Abstract

Scholars increasingly worry about an increase in citizens' tolerance for political violence. The present research aimed to gauge tolerance for political violence in the Netherlands and investigate its predictors. In Study 1, tolerance for political violence was assessed in a representative sample of Dutch citizens (N = 515) in a preregistered survey. Results showed that, depending on the wording of the question, 2% to 19% of participants supported the use of political violence. In Study 2, data from the Dutch part of the European Values Study (N = 2,404) was used to investigate predictors of tolerance for political violence. The results revealed that participants with lower incomes and participants who indicated that the Netherlands is not governed democratically indicated higher levels of tolerance. This suggests that economic uncertainty and perceptions of political legitimacy are the main drivers of tolerance for political violence.