Analysis of Cycles of Retributive Violence

University Of California-Davis, Davis CA

Investigators

Abstract

Title: Analysis of Cycles of Retributive Violence Abstract: Punishing those who break the law and providing justice to victims is a fundamental duty of states. When citizens doubt the legitimacy of the state's punishments, the ability to govern breaks down, which can lead to public support for vigilante justice and further erosion of support for the rule of law. This project will analyze the factors related to support for vigilante violence. This project will study the role that information and misconceptions of state justice institutions as well as the role of emotion influence citizen support for extrajudicial punishments. Engaging in theories from criminal justice, psychology, and political science, this study will develop, test, and implement various interventions thought to shape citizen support for extrajudicial punishments as opposed to the rule of law in Mexico. Employing a field experimental design, these interventions are designed to test different underlying reasons that citizens might support vigilante violence. A goal of this project is to identify policy interventions that reduce support for vigilantism and increase support for due process. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.