When the Radical Right Leads: How Politics Shapes Gendered Violence

Abstract The rise of radical-right parties has generated extensive research on their effects on democratic institutions, political polarization, and social cohesion. Far less is known, however, about how these political transformations shape patterns of interpersonal violence—particularly violence against women. This paper bridges research on political behavior and gender-based violence by examining how radical-right leadership, through its rhetoric and governing style, reshapes social norms and weakens informal constraints on aggression. Building on theories of elite cueing and norm diffusion, we argue that political leaders do not merely reflect societal attitudes; they actively construct the moral boundaries of acceptable behavior. When governing elites employ hostile, demeaning, or exclusionary rhetoric, they signal that aggression, dominance, and transgression are legitimate modes of interaction. This process of normative contagion diffuses downward through partisan and social networks, normalizing aggression among supporters and eroding norms of civility well beyond the political sphere. Israel provides a critical case for testing this argument. In recent years, senior figures in Netanyahu’s radical-right coalition have adopted an increasingly aggressive and polarizing communication style, targeting political opponents, civil society actors, and judicial institutions. We assess the consequences of this shift using two complementary empirical strategies. First, an observational analysis of municipality-level police data from 2016 to 2024 shows that intimate partner violence (IPV) declines in municipalities with strong support for Likud when the party governs outside a radical-right coalition, but increases sharply when it leads a radical-right coalition. This reversal suggests that elite-level aggression alters local normative environments, weakening restraints on private violence. Second, a pre-registered survey experiment identifies the causal mechanism. Exposure to authentic, aggressive statements by senior radical-right politicians increases sexist attitudes and reduces support for gender equality among right-leaning men, while producing counter-mobilizing effects among political opponents. Together, these findings demonstrate that radical-right elites shape not only political discourse but also private conduct. By modeling aggression and legitimizing hostility, they extend the reach of political incivility into intimate life. When leaders speak violently, citizens learn that violence speaks.