Thread by @M_B_Petersen

At #APSA2022, @boralexander1 presents our research on the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cross-national support for the political system: psyarxiv.com/qjmct/

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The pandemic was the largest socio-political crisis of our lifetime.

Which negative socio-political effects could this generate? (1) Horizontal relationships could be challenged (i.e., solidarity); (2) vertical relationships could be challenged (i.e., system support). 2/8

To study this, we fielded panel surveys in 4 countries in 2020 (April, June & Dec): US, Denmark, Italy & Hungary (i.e., a diverse set of countries). We use measures from pre-pandemic World Values Survey as benchmark. 3/8

To understand who might react most negatively to the pandemic, we constructed a "burden of COVID-19" scale and also included measures of anomie. As outcomes. we obtained 2 broad measures of social solidarity & system support - and a measure of extreme political discontent. 4/8

The burden of the pandemic and anomie varies across the first year of the pandemic and is particularly high in both April '20 and Dec '20. Social solidarity is overall constant across the period including relative to pre-pandemic benchmarks. 5/8

For system support the pattern is different: There is a decrease compared to pre-pandemic baselines. The decrease continues over the period. At the individual-level, this is driven by feelings of the psychological burden of the pandemic & feelings of anomie. 6/8

These feelings also generate extreme political discontent, fuelling support for conspiracy theories and even desires to "watch the world burn". 7/8

This suggests that the pandemic was not just a health crisis but a total societal crisis. As the pandemic moves more to the background, these negative societal effects are important to mitigate. Rebuilding system support is key, as we face future crises. 8/8