Hand in fist: Attachment to the nation and tolerance for white supremacist violence

Abstract How does attachment to the nation influence one’s perception of white nationalist terrorism in the United States? Whereas terrorism has traditionally been understood as attacking the interests of the State, the recent increase in white supremacist violence in the United States is also deeply connected to the country’s history. An emerging body of literature has begun to examine the subjectivity of what is considered terrorism, often finding that respondents are less likely to identify white perpetrators as terrorists compared to non-white perpetrators for similar crimes. We engage a survey experiment to extend the ‘relational theory of terror perception’ to one’s attachment to the nation. We test how national attachment, an ostensibly positive disposition and distinct from patriotism and nationalism, shapes how racially motivated violence is perceived. We find that those with a stronger attachment to the nation are less concerned by hypothetical incidents of white supremacist violence than those with a weaker attachment to the nation. These biases that minimize concern for white supremacist violence are held across the political spectrum and are not simply a function of race, party affiliation, or political ideology. In fact, national attachment is a stronger predictor of attitudes toward white supremacy than respondent race; we find no support for our hypothesis that white respondents would be less concerned by violence committed by white perpetrators. Recognizing the link between positive attachment to the nation and tolerance for white nationalist violence is crucial for shaping America’s response to this threat to national security and civil peace.