Constitutional Rules vs. Political Context: How Citizens Assess Executive Authority Under Trump

Political Behavior @AJPS 3 Stata files 7 Datasets Dataverse

Thinking About Government Authority

This study investigates how citizens assess the proper use of power across government branches.

🧠 Data & Methods

Three experiments on national samples examined perceptions of authority in courts, legislatures, and executive agencies. Participants evaluated decision-making compliance with constitutional rules based on both rule information alone and combined with political context.

💡 Key Findings

Policy preferences outweigh rule compliance when assessing President Trump's actions
Political factors like partisan views were more influential than during the Obama administration
Citizens showed less concern about rule adherence under Mr. Trump compared to earlier periods

🧾 Why It Matters

These results suggest constitutional norms may no longer be as central in citizen assessments of executive power during this political era. Alternative explanations tied to specific inquiries are also explored.

Article card for article: Thinking About Government Authority: Constitutional Rules and Political Context in Citizens' Assessments of Judicial, Legislative, and Executive Action

Thinking About Government Authority: Constitutional Rules and Political Context in Citizens' Assessments of Judicial, Legislative, and Executive Action was authored by Eileen Braman. It was published by Wiley in AJPS in 2021.