Coded Appeals and Political Gains: Exploring the Impact of Racial Dogwhistles on Political Support

Political parties have incentives to appeal to diverse voters to maximize support. This study examines the effect of politicians exploiting dogwhistles—expressions that convey hidden messages to specific audiences while escaping notice by the majority—for this purpose. Findings from a word replacement test and a survey experiment assessing the utility of racial dogwhistles in Sweden suggest that dogwhistling can aid politicians in gaining support from in-groups while retaining backing from out-groups; for example, “suburban gang” (dogwhistle) elicits more support than “immigrant gang.” Results suggest that dogwhistling is effective beyond the U.S. context and for different forms of political support.