Social and political intolerance threaten democracy and good governance through the denial of equal rights, by claiming that some people/groups that share certain characteristics should not be treated equally, are less deserving than others and it is ok to be excluded from the provision of public goods. In this paper we employ classical theoretical frameworks from political psychology and social psychology to explore the nature and the roots of prejudiced and discriminatory attitudes towards minority groups in a new democracy characterized by relatively high levels of social and political intolerance as well as a rather weak observance of anti-prejudice norms in the public sphere.
We consider individual-centered explanations that revolve around authoritarian and social dominance attitudes and theoretical models that see prejudice as rooted in the internalization of the social norms existing in a society. In addition to this, we assess the role played by perceived economic and symbolic threats in stirring up prejudice. The questions that the paper explores are as follows. First, is prejudice a uni- or multi-dimensional phenomenon? Second, are there similar mechanisms that account for the expression of prejudice towards various out-groups? To address the first question we look at the relationship between various measures of prejudice and discriminatory attitudes towards different out-groups. These measures include the expression of stereotypes, social distance indicators, endorsement of exclusionary policies, symbolic racism, and measures of affect towards various out-groups. To approach the second question we test various models that tap into the above mentioned theoretical frameworks to explain prejudice towards different out-groups.
In this study we draw on original data collected in a national survey study conducted in Romania in 2015-2016.
