Citizens Distinguish Radical Muslims from General Population in Wiretapping Backlash

Terrorism often leads to stigmatization of groups perceived as 'out-groups'. This study investigates two out-group theories regarding attitudes towards counterterrorism policies. We conducted a survey experiment among Norwegian citizens designed to test the effect of group treatments on their attitudes towards wiretapping.

Research Design:

• Randomized survey experiment with different group treatments presented.
• Measurement of participants' attitudes towards police wiretapping.
• Assessment of willingness to grant leeway to specific groups.

Key Findings:

• Group treatments significantly influenced opinions on wiretapping.
• The hypothesis that terrorism fear leads to backlash against all Muslims is rejected.
• Norwegian citizens distinguish between radical Muslim and general Muslim populations when assessing security measures.
• They also differentiate extreme right-wing groups, showing nuanced policy preferences.

Why It Matters:

Our results suggest citizens are capable of making fine-grained distinctions between different groups based on perceived threat. This challenges simplistic assumptions linking terrorism fears to generalized prejudice against entire religious or ideological communities.