3. Perceived Terrorism Threat and Ideology

This chapter presents original analysis of national survey data from Australia, Europe and the United States to show that some ideological groups are more predisposed to perceive an exaggerated threat of terrorism than others. Additionally, this chapter examines if individuals who are concerned about terrorism are also concerned about other issues like crime, immigration and climate change. It then discusses whether right-wing-orientated individuals perceive a higher threat of terrorism than left-wing individuals and whether the perceived threat of terrorism is associated with draconian and anti-system attitudes within both the left-wing and the right-wing electorate. Finally, using data collected in Italy, this chapter discusses whether and how the perceived threat of terrorism can change people’s political attitudes.