Under Pressure

From the pandemic, and climate change to terrorist attacks: multiple threats could, or will, fundamentally change our way of life. Even the perceptions of threat can disrupt society. Threats can ignite protests and foster support for anti-democratic policies, and can ultimately lead to violence. In Under Pressure, we study how individuals perceive and manage these threats, and how these perceptions influence their political attitudes and behaviors to counter these threats.

The world has been threatening to humankind: famine, war, terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic. Some people adopt political preferences that they perceive to address the threat. But how complex is the link between threat and political preferences? In our project, we study how people perceive and manage threats and adopt political attitudes and behaviors to counter these threats. Under Pressure aims to inform citizens with knowledge on how to mitigate threats and safeguard society’s stability.