Publication Date
4-26-2024
School
Helms School of Government; School of Divinity
Major
Government: Politics and Policy
Keywords
fear, threat, political rhetoric, political behavior, Augustine, anthropology, political neuroscience, negative emotion, exaggerated threat, tribal combat, religious apocalypse, negativity bias, terror management theory, ideology, conservative, emotional discourse, flight 93, election, trump, biden
Disciplines
American Politics | American Popular Culture | Christian Denominations and Sects | Christianity | Ethics and Political Philosophy | Interpersonal and Small Group Communication | Law and Politics | Law and Psychology | Mass Communication | Other Philosophy | Political History | Political Theory | Politics and Social Change | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion | Social and Cultural Anthropology | Social History | Social Influence and Political Communication | Sociology of Culture | Speech and Rhetorical Studies
Recommended Citation
Hostetter, Daniel, "Charge the Cockpit or Die: An Anatomy of Fear-Driven Political Rhetoric in American Conservatism" (2024). Senior Honors Theses. 1388.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/honors/1388
Abstract
Subthreshold negative emotions have superseded conscious reason as the initial and strongest motivators of political behavior. Political neuroscience uses the concepts of negativity bias and terror management theory to explore why fear-driven rhetoric plays such an outsized role in determining human political actions. These mechanisms of human anthropology are explored by competing explanations from biblical and evolutionary scholars who attempt to understand their contribution to human vulnerabilities to fear. When these mechanisms are observed in fear-driven political rhetoric, three common characteristics emerge: exaggerated threat, tribal combat, and religious apocalypse, which provide a new framework for explaining how modern populist leaders weaponize negative emotions to meaningfully influence individual convictions, tribal identities, cultural imaginations, and reactions against outgroups and perceived external threats.
Included in
American Politics Commons, American Popular Culture Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons, Law and Politics Commons, Law and Psychology Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Other Philosophy Commons, Political History Commons, Political Theory Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Social History Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons, Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons
