Law and order, magical spirits, and false flag operations: On the co‐occurrence of authoritarianism, spirituality, and conspiracy beliefs and their association with support of violent protests.
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| Title: | Law and order, magical spirits, and false flag operations: On the co‐occurrence of authoritarianism, spirituality, and conspiracy beliefs and their association with support of violent protests. |
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| Authors: | Frenken, Marius (AUTHOR), Imhoff, Roland (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Political Psychology. Feb2026, Vol. 47 Issue 1, p1-21. 21p. |
| Subjects: | Authoritarianism, Spirituality, Conspiracy theories, Political affiliation, Western countries, Protest movements, Public demonstrations |
| Geographic Terms: | Germany |
| Abstract: | In Western democracies, commentators have noted an unprecedented diversity in protest movements opposing ecological and health regulations, including traditional right‐wing authoritarians alongside conspiracy and spiritual believers. Some of these beliefs appear to be incompatible with one another, since authoritarianism is a hallmark of (extreme) right‐wing movements, while spirituality is typically expected to be more prevalent in liberal alternative milieus. This research aims to examine the co‐occurrence of these attitudes and their connection to the endorsement of illegal and violent protests. The study employed Latent Profile Analyses and moderated regressions on four extensive quota‐based datasets from Germany (total N = 8202), demonstrating that while most participants did not adhere to any of these beliefs, they often co‐occurred. Each of these beliefs was found to independently predict support for illegal and violent protests, even when controlling for anger. The findings suggest that political authoritarianism, conspiracy beliefs, and spirituality can exhibit a high degree of alignment in Western democracies. Moreover, the study discusses the potential implications of these beliefs as a threat to the democratic system, positing that they could legitimize violent protests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Political Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 1 |
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| Header | DbId: pbh DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection An: 191185503 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Law and order, magical spirits, and false flag operations: On the co‐occurrence of authoritarianism, spirituality, and conspiracy beliefs and their association with support of violent protests. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Frenken%2C+Marius%22">Frenken, Marius</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Imhoff%2C+Roland%22">Imhoff, Roland</searchLink> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Political+Psychology%22">Political Psychology</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 47 Issue 1, p1-21. 21p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Authoritarianism%22">Authoritarianism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spirituality%22">Spirituality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Conspiracy+theories%22">Conspiracy theories</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Political+affiliation%22">Political affiliation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Western+countries%22">Western countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Protest+movements%22">Protest movements</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+demonstrations%22">Public demonstrations</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Germany%22">Germany</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: In Western democracies, commentators have noted an unprecedented diversity in protest movements opposing ecological and health regulations, including traditional right‐wing authoritarians alongside conspiracy and spiritual believers. Some of these beliefs appear to be incompatible with one another, since authoritarianism is a hallmark of (extreme) right‐wing movements, while spirituality is typically expected to be more prevalent in liberal alternative milieus. This research aims to examine the co‐occurrence of these attitudes and their connection to the endorsement of illegal and violent protests. The study employed Latent Profile Analyses and moderated regressions on four extensive quota‐based datasets from Germany (total N = 8202), demonstrating that while most participants did not adhere to any of these beliefs, they often co‐occurred. Each of these beliefs was found to independently predict support for illegal and violent protests, even when controlling for anger. The findings suggest that political authoritarianism, conspiracy beliefs, and spirituality can exhibit a high degree of alignment in Western democracies. Moreover, the study discusses the potential implications of these beliefs as a threat to the democratic system, positing that they could legitimize violent protests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Political Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=191185503 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1111/pops.70034 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 21 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Authoritarianism Type: general – SubjectFull: Spirituality Type: general – SubjectFull: Conspiracy theories Type: general – SubjectFull: Political affiliation Type: general – SubjectFull: Western countries Type: general – SubjectFull: Protest movements Type: general – SubjectFull: Public demonstrations Type: general – SubjectFull: Germany Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Law and order, magical spirits, and false flag operations: On the co‐occurrence of authoritarianism, spirituality, and conspiracy beliefs and their association with support of violent protests. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Frenken, Marius – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Imhoff, Roland IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 02 Text: Feb2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 0162895X Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 47 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Political Psychology Type: main |
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