A recent study published in the journal Political Psychology investigates the rise of political authoritarianism in the United States, particularly around the events of the January 6, 2021 insurrection. The researchers found evidence that a strong sense of identity fusion with Donald Trump is linked to his followers viewing opposition members as existential threats. But fusion with the overarching identity of “America” can reduce this perception, thus diminishing support for authoritarian actions against political rivals.
Political authoritarianism is on the rise globally, with significant implications for democratic societies. Understanding the factors driving this rise is crucial for developing strategies to counteract it. The researchers aimed to explore the psychological mechanisms behind this trend, particularly the concept of identity fusion. Identity fusion refers to a deep, visceral connection between individuals and a group, leader, or cause, which can drive extreme behaviors.
“My coauthors and I were interested in this topic because we were observing a lot of political turmoil and cross-party animus around the time of the American 2020 Election,” said study author Francois Alexi Martel, an assistant professor of psychology at St. Edward’s University. “We wanted to see how the average Biden and Trump supporters felt about the opposing political party, what actions they endorsed taking against their political rivals, and whether these variables were informed by different types of political identities.”
The researchers used a three-wave panel study, collecting data from supporters of Donald Trump and Joe Biden around the time of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election and the January 6 insurrection. The data collection occurred in three phases: one week before the election (Wave 1), one week after the election (Wave 2), and one week after the insurrection (Wave 3). Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk and the CloudResearch platform, ensuring a robust sample of politically engaged individuals.
The initial sample included 1,498 voters, with 575 Trump supporters and 923 Biden supporters. Subsequent waves retained a substantial number of participants, with 404 Trump supporters and 406 Biden supporters in Wave 2, and 288 Trump supporters and 310 Biden supporters in Wave 3.
To assess identity fusion, participants were asked to indicate their level of agreement with statements reflecting their connection to three targets: their preferred presidential candidate (Trump or Biden), their political party, and the United States. Example items included “I have a deep emotional bond with [Donald Trump / Joe Biden]” and “[Donald Trump / Joe Biden] is me.”
The surveys also measured their perception of the opposing party as an existential threat and their support for authoritarian actions against the opposition. Additionally, the study included measures of affective polarization to evaluate the emotional divide between participants and their political opponents.
One of the key findings is the role of identity fusion with Donald Trump. The study showed that supporters who felt a strong personal connection to Trump were more prone to seeing Democrats as existential threats. This perceived threat, in turn, increased their support for authoritarian actions against Democrats. These actions included measures like disbanding Congress, using the military to take control of the government, and even engaging in violent protests. Interestingly, this pattern was not observed among supporters of Joe Biden, suggesting a unique dynamic among Trump supporters.
Over the course of the study, changes in identity fusion were also observed. Fusion with Trump decreased after his electoral defeat, while fusion with Biden increased. Despite this, Trump supporters who remained strongly fused to him even after his defeat became even more supportive of authoritarian actions.
“We found that the effect of fusion with Trump predicting support for authoritarian actions against Democrats was much stronger (about 3x as much) than fusion with Biden predicting support for authoritarian actions against Republicans,” Martel told PsyPost. “Also, this effect only persisted longitudinally for Trump supporters but not Biden supporters, which suggests that fusion with Trump was a much stronger predictor of authoritarian actions over time.”
“Admittedly, we were not necessarily surprised that the authoritarian impulse was stronger among highly fused Trump supporters compared to highly fused Biden supporters given the difference in rhetoric between the candidates, Trump’s admission months before election day that he would refuse to accept the election results if he lost, and his subsequent denial of his election loss combined with attempts to overthrow the election results which culminated in the January 6th insurrection.”
“However, we were surprised at the difference in sheer magnitude of support for authoritarianism between people fused with either candidate,” Martel said. “Fusion with Trump also far outstripped fusion with the Republican Party as a predictor of authoritarian actions, whereas fusion with Biden was similar to fusion with the Democratic Party in its predictive power.”
In contrast, the researchers found that identity fusion with the United States could mitigate the endorsement of authoritarian actions. Participants who felt a strong connection to their national identity were less likely to perceive the opposing party as a threat and, consequently, less likely to support extreme measures against them. This finding underscores the potential of a unifying national identity to counteract the divisive effects of partisan identity fusion.
“To summarize, we found that identity fusion might be a solution as well as a cause of the partisan polarization that has recently gripped the United States,” Martel told PsyPost. “Fusing one’s identity with the United States promotes allegiance to Americans of all stripes, whereas fusion with political figures or parties fosters allegiance to them and animosity toward their opponents.”
“Fusion with the United States appears to suppress the political authoritarian impulses of those who are most inclined to have such impulses. Increasingly, many Americans seem to be fed up with the political bloodsport of the most vocal and divisive forces in politics. (Re)building a shared national identity based around values and goals that unite Americans seems like a much better future than letting division destroy us from within. Our research offers empirical evidence that the hope for unity to prevail over division could become a reality.”
The researchers also compared the effects of identity fusion with affective polarization, which is the emotional divide between parties. While both are important, identity fusion was a stronger predictor of support for authoritarian actions than affective polarization. This highlights the unique and powerful role of identity fusion in driving extreme political behaviors and suggests that fostering a stronger, inclusive national identity could be a strategy to mitigate these effects.
While the study provides valuable insights, it also has limitations. The data were collected during a highly volatile period in American politics, which may have influenced participants’ responses. Additionally, the reliance on self-reported measures may introduce biases.
“Our data collection occurred between November 2020-January 2021, which was a long time ago from the perspective of American politics. Where Americans stand on these issues now is uncertain. However, some unpublished evidence we found with a study we ran in 2022 suggested that the average support for authoritarian actions against the opposing political party had risen for both Republicans and Democrats since the time we ran our earlier study.”
“This is troubling because if Americans consider the opposing party to be an existential threat and endorse unconstitutional actions against them, then the fear of the opposing party may actually lead people to support their own party’s destruction of the very country they seek to defend. Identity politics could lead to the country’s ruin.”
Regarding the long-term goals for this line of research, Martel explained that “we would like to find ways to reduce partisan division and (re)unite Americans. We hope that focusing on things that Americans have in common and aspects of our national identity that we share can help unify us so that we can better solve shared problems and make a better world. So often the political rhetoric isn’t focused on solving problems and helping the American people, rather the focus is on extremists scoring political points by mischaracterizing the motives and agendas of the opposing party.”
“There is hope, however, as research from my dissertation in 2023 demonstrated that priming a national identity (by having participants write about memory where they felt connected to the United States) interacted with participant’s fusion with the United States to reduce support for authoritarian actions against the opposing political party. This suggests that leveraging the national identity might help to reduce the worst consequences of partisan division, especially among those who already feel fused with the United States and therefore care deeply about our country.”
The study, “Identity fusion and support for political authoritarianism: Lessons from the U.S. insurrection of 2021,” was authored by Francois Alexi Martel, Philip Moniz, Ashwini Ashokkumar, and William B. Swann Jr.
