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Examining How Perception of External Threat Influences the Popularity of Government Leaders

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Advances in Cross-Cultural Decision Making (AHFE 2017)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 610))

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Abstract

This paper seeks to explore the conditions where leaders from open democracies to authoritarian states become more or less popular in response to perceived economic and social threats to society, along with increases in societal (economic and social) hardship and group polarization effects. To further explore these conditions, we used a psycho-social approach to develop a preliminary conceptual model of how the perception of threats, changes in societal conditions, and the polarization of society can concurrently influence the popularity of a government leader.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In his Putin’s speech to the Russian parliament, Putin stated, “Above all, we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century. As for the Russian nation, it became a genuine drama. Tens of millions of our co-citizens and co-patriots found themselves outside Russian territory. Moreover, the epidemic of disintegration infected Russia itself” (Kremlin Archives).

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Acknowledgements

Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. Approved for unlimited release: SAND2017-2693 C

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cognitive Science and Applications, Cyber Engineering Research Institute, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, USA

    Michael Bernard & Asmeret Naugle

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  1. Michael Bernard
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  2. Asmeret Naugle
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Correspondence to Michael Bernard .

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  1. Advanced Technology Labs, Lockheed Martin, Orlando, Florida, USA

    Mark Hoffman

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Bernard, M., Naugle, A. (2018). Examining How Perception of External Threat Influences the Popularity of Government Leaders. In: Hoffman, M. (eds) Advances in Cross-Cultural Decision Making. AHFE 2017. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 610. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60747-4_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60747-4_13

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60746-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60747-4

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