Does Feeling Threatened by Cultural and Demographic Changes Make People More Likely to Support Authoritarian Leaders in the United States?

Authors

• Jack Brett Krikorian, Chapman UniversityFollow

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Spring 5-6-2026

Faculty Advisor(s)

Professor Lewis Luartz

Abstract

Does the perception of threat from cultural and demographic transformations increase a tendency to support authoritarian and nationalist views in politics in the United States? While current research indicates that demographic anxiety, rather than economic distress, has fueled support for authoritarian political figures in recent elections, there has been insufficient focus on whether such threat perceptions directly forecast support for authoritarian governance more generally. I argue that individuals who recognize heightened cultural and demographic threats are more inclined to support robust, authoritarian leadership, as perceived threats amplify the psychological necessity for security and order over democratic limitations. I utilize the 2020 American National Election Studies to estimate a model (OLS) to test this argument. Preliminary findings suggest I utilized the 2020 American National Election Studies to estimate an ordinary least squares regression model to test this argument. Preliminary findings reveal a positive but declining relationship between attitudes toward Hispanic political representation and support for strong leadership, while controlling for race/ethnicity and education level. The findings indicate that individuals who prioritize Hispanic political representation exhibit increased support for authoritarian leadership, although this effect diminishes at elevated levels of the scale. These findings suggest that cultural and demographic threat attitudes have considerable, though constrained, predictive validity concerning authoritarian inclinations, thereby reinforcing the central thesis that identity-driven anxieties, rather than mere economic grievances, are crucial in explaining the rise of authoritarianism in contemporary American democracy.

Comments

Presented at the Spring 2026 Student Scholar Symposium at Chapman University.

Recommended Citation

Krikorian, Jack Brett, "Does Feeling Threatened by Cultural and Demographic Changes Make People More Likely to Support Authoritarian Leaders in the United States?" (2026). Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters. 797.
https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/cusrd_abstracts/797