Political tolerance in Serbia and Europe: Social and psychological roots

Tolerance of political opponents is one of the basic preconditions of a democratic society. Empirical research, however, typically reveals low levels of tolerance even in societies with long democratic tradition. This paper presents a comparative study of the sources of individual differences in the...

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Main Author: Todosijević Bojan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Drustvo Psihologa Srbije 2008-01-01
Series:Psihologija
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0048-5705/2008/0048-57050804455T.pdf
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author Todosijević Bojan
author_facet Todosijević Bojan
author_sort Todosijević Bojan
collection DOAJ
description Tolerance of political opponents is one of the basic preconditions of a democratic society. Empirical research, however, typically reveals low levels of tolerance even in societies with long democratic tradition. This paper presents a comparative study of the sources of individual differences in the degree of political tolerance in Europe, with special reference to Serbia. According to Sullivan et al.'s theory (Sullivan et al. 1979, 53-55), socio-demographic factors are decisive for the choice of a group towards which the intolerance will be directed, while psychological factors are more important for the level of intolerance. Implications of this theory are examined using data collected in about 30 European countries. The research is based on World Values Survey data (WVS). The WVS data include the so-called 'least- liked' operationalization of political intolerance. The findings reveal significant impact of psychological factors on the target group selection, and not only on the degree of intolerance, contrary to Sullivan et al.'s theory.
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spelling doaj.art-ce7fd297d28a4da880d265d1137edb432022-12-22T02:02:27ZengDrustvo Psihologa SrbijePsihologija0048-57052008-01-0141445548710.2298/PSI0804455TPolitical tolerance in Serbia and Europe: Social and psychological rootsTodosijević BojanTolerance of political opponents is one of the basic preconditions of a democratic society. Empirical research, however, typically reveals low levels of tolerance even in societies with long democratic tradition. This paper presents a comparative study of the sources of individual differences in the degree of political tolerance in Europe, with special reference to Serbia. According to Sullivan et al.'s theory (Sullivan et al. 1979, 53-55), socio-demographic factors are decisive for the choice of a group towards which the intolerance will be directed, while psychological factors are more important for the level of intolerance. Implications of this theory are examined using data collected in about 30 European countries. The research is based on World Values Survey data (WVS). The WVS data include the so-called 'least- liked' operationalization of political intolerance. The findings reveal significant impact of psychological factors on the target group selection, and not only on the degree of intolerance, contrary to Sullivan et al.'s theory.http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0048-5705/2008/0048-57050804455T.pdfpolitical tolerancesocial statusauthoritarianismSerbiaEurope
spellingShingle Todosijević Bojan
Political tolerance in Serbia and Europe: Social and psychological roots
Psihologija
political tolerance
social status
authoritarianism
Serbia
Europe
title Political tolerance in Serbia and Europe: Social and psychological roots
title_full Political tolerance in Serbia and Europe: Social and psychological roots
title_fullStr Political tolerance in Serbia and Europe: Social and psychological roots
title_full_unstemmed Political tolerance in Serbia and Europe: Social and psychological roots
title_short Political tolerance in Serbia and Europe: Social and psychological roots
title_sort political tolerance in serbia and europe social and psychological roots
topic political tolerance
social status
authoritarianism
Serbia
Europe
url http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0048-5705/2008/0048-57050804455T.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT todosijevicbojan politicaltoleranceinserbiaandeuropesocialandpsychologicalroots