Bridging Partisan Division over Anti-Terrorism Policies: The Role of Threat Perceptions

This study examines how changes in perceptions of threat affect individuals’ policy views, as well as the political implications of this relationship. A survey experiment was administered to a representative sample of the U.S. population in which individuals’ perceived likelihood of a future terrorist attack on American soil was manipulated. The purpose of the survey is to address two hypotheses which state that a higher perceived threat from a terrorist attack will make individuals more supportive of public policies designed to combat terrorism and the effect of threat information on support of public policies designed to combat terrorism will be stronger among Democrats who believe an attack is likely. The respondents were picked for the study through Random Digit Dialing administered by Knowledge Networks and sent a questionnaire over the Internet. Variables treated in this study fall into two general groups: demographics and attitudes towards anti-terrorism polices. Demographic variables include race, age, education, income, and geographic region. The anti-terrorism policy variables revolve around four broad questions that deal with wire-taps, libraries reporting to the federal government, airline restrictions, and U.S. military attacks against terrorism.