Perceived Threats to Democracy: An Examination of Political Affiliation and Beliefs about Terrorism, State Control, and Human Rights

This article reports on the results of a survey that was conducted in Greece. It explored 1,027 respondents' (a) definitions of and beliefs about terrorism, (b) tolerance of restrictive measures against terrorism, (c) tolerance of violations of the human rights of those accused of terrorism, and (d) political affiliations. Respondents were classified according to their endorsement of anti‐terrorist and anti‐power beliefs. A multiple correspondence analysis indicated that respondents who endorsed neither anti‐terrorist nor anti‐power beliefs were most tolerant of restrictive anti‐terrorist measures and violations of human rights. These respondents either identified politically with the extreme Right, or refused to place themselves on the political continuum.