1. Approaches to Political Science

2. Various approaches Political philosophy Institutions
Political behavior
Rational choice
Public policy

3. Political Philosophy Normative political philosophy
What constitutes a just war
Who is excluded
How should we deliberate
Historical philosophy
What Hobbes/Rousseau/Federalist papers really meant
What can Hobbes tell us about our world today?
Interpretation of events
George W. Bush and Trump are feminists?

4. Institutions Old institutionalism New institutionalism
What causes elites, justices or institutions to vote for outcomes?
What is the impact of rules?

5. Rational choice What causes people to engage in collective action?
The prisoner’s dilemma
Cooperation
Public goods
Tragedy of the commons
Often the basis for institutional work

6. Political behavior Attitudes Behavior
What causes people to support the rule of law?
What causes people to support violence?
What causes people to be liberal?
What causes conservatives to dislike liberals and vice versa?
Behavior
What causes political participation?
What causes people to engage in violence?
What causes people to break laws?
What causes people to appeal to courts for grievances?

7. Example of a research project

8. “I Am the Law!”: Public Support for the Rule of Law in an Era of Polarized Politics
Corey M. Barwick – Tennessee State University
Vanessa A. Baird – University of Colorado Boulder
Lauren G. Strauss – University of Colorado Boulder

9. Research question
Why do some people support the rule of law more than other people?
Our contribution:
Prothro and Griggs: abstract versus concrete
Not been done with rule of law
1.) laws apply to everyone, including government officials; 2.) government will respond predictability to citizen behavior; 3) judges should apply the rules and not do what they please

10. Two kinds of dependent variables
Abstract rule of law
Six specific laws
Three laws conservatives might dislike
Three laws that liberals might dislike

11. Findings of the project
Abstract very different from concrete
Support for rule of law appears related to non-material concerns
When people’s sense of themselves is threatened, they do not support the law

12. Support for the rule of law in 2016

13. Concrete rule of law Support for the president to…
1) stop deporting non-criminals
2) detain suspected terrorists

14. Concrete rule of law Support for officials to…
3) ignore the law when their religious beliefs demand it
4) ignore federal marijuana laws

15. Concrete rule of law Support for violating speech rights for…
5) black protesters
6) gun protesters

16. Underlying theory
Tom Tyler: procedural justice supports people’s sense of themselves
Good for democracy

17. But…
Support for procedures over outcomes only works for those with dominant identity
Could unravel democracy

18. And moreover…
Bandura: loss of agency or threats to sense of self causes evil
When society no longer supportive of dominant identity, rule of law loses

19. Threats to sense of self
Sensitivity to norms
Life is out of control
Political grievance

20. Results: Support for abstract rule of law
Concept
Result
Sensitivity to norms +
Life is out of control -
Political grievance
Some controls:
Police should bend the law
Dogmatism
Authoritarianism
Democracy is messy
People who have authoritarian personalities tend to support obedience to authorities (like parents). This should translate into support for the rule of law Dogmatism is the belief that the world is black and white and that one’s opinions are correct. If they think people think they are right, then they will support the rule of law less because they will be more inclined to break laws that they consider are unjust. People who believe their lives are out of control are more likely to act immorally and engage in extreme behavior – that would include law violation; if you blame the political system for your problems, you probably do not support the laws produced by that system

21. Support for violating specific laws
Lowest support
Detaining terrorists
Not allowing blacks to protest
Enforcing marijuana laws
Highest support
Deporting all undocumented
Not allowing religious exceptions
Allowing gun protesters to protest

22. Results: Concrete rule of law
~ Detain
Black
~ Religion
Deport all
Guns
~ Pot
Support for the abstract rule of law +
Support police -
Police should bend the law
Authoritarianism
Dogmatism
Democracy is messy
Sensitivity to norms
Life is out of control
Political grievance R2
.3, .44, .22
.28, .18, .24

23. Conclusion Rule of law in the abstract: Breaking specific laws:
personality and threats to identity
Breaking specific laws:
values

24. Conclusion Xenophobia
Best predicted factors: blacks protesting, detaining suspected terrorists
Abstract rule of law not harnessed in following laws related to race
unless following law harms people of color or supports guns

25. The future of rule of law
Revolution in the rule of law
Nation state and legal order
The law created cultural expectations
Nationalism: peoples, not principles
“Principles over peoples” undermine nationalists

26. The future of rule of law
When people feel threatened, they will support harming political enemies
KKK
Eastern European WWII
Support for political violence
Terrorism
War crimes

27. Speculations Would he have imagined it would work so well?
Hobbes: law, not justice
Would he have imagined it would work so well?

28. Speculations Post-materialism for right and left
Election: material concerns not the point
Racism and Trump vote: r = .68
Post-materialism for right and left
Identity connected to
Principles
Peoples

29. Speculations
Perception that smug liberal elites looking down on their small-town religious values and calling them racists
Spiral downward: spite
Solutions?

30. Future research
Effects of most important problem and other political attitudes
Explain what causes people to feel out of control, perceive that they have a grievance, get angry at norm violations

31. Bonus Slides

32. Support for the rule of law in 2005

33. Table 1. Predicting abstract rule of law
OLS slope coefficient
(Standard error)
p-value
Attitudes toward the police
Support for the police
.07 (.05)
.164
Belief that police should bend the law
-.25 (.03)
.000
Personal attributes and attitudes
Authoritarianism
.11 (.03)
.002
Belief that democracy is messy
-.08 (.03)
.004
Sensitivity to norm violation
.09 (.03)
.009
Dogmatism
-.11 (.03)
Racial resentment
.08 (.04)
.048
Religiosity
-.01 (.03)
.650
Republican
.07 (.03)
.008
Perceptions of personal context
Belief that one’s life is out of control
-.09 (.04)
.030
Perception that grievance is due to politics
-.12 (.04)
.001
Demographic controls
Age
.17 (.04)
Female
.01 (.02)
.404
Education
-.00 (.03)
.861
Being white
-.01 (.02)
.710
Income
.04 (.03)
.102
Missing data controls
Refusing to report income
.05 (.05)
.271
Missing on post-survey
-.15 (.09)
.101
Constant
.73 (.08)

34. Results: Controls Concept Result Racial resentment + Religiosity
Republican
Age
Female
Education
Being white
Income

35. Marginal Effects (Age, by Education): Public Support for the Abstract Rule of Law