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Political Intolerance and Political Repression During the McCarthy Red Scare

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  • Gibson, James L.

Abstract

I test several hypotheses concerning the origins of political repression in the states of the United States. The hypotheses are drawn from the elitist theory of democracy, which asserts that repression of unpopular political minorities stems from the intolerance of the mass public, the generally more tolerant elites not supporting such repression. Focusing on the repressive legislation adopted by the states during the McCarthy era, I examine the relationships between elite and mass opinion and repressive public policy. Generally it seems that elites, not masses, were responsible for the repression of the era. These findings suggest that the elitist theory of democracy is in need of substantial theoretical reconsideration, as well as further empirical investigation.

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  • Gibson, James L., 1988. "Political Intolerance and Political Repression During the McCarthy Red Scare," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(2), pages 511-529, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:82:y:1988:i:02:p:511-529_08
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    Cited by:

    1. Christian Davenport, 1999. "Human Rights and the Democratic Proposition," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 43(1), pages 92-116, February.
    2. April K. Clark & Michael Clark & Marie A. Eisenstein, 2014. "Stability and Change," SAGE Open, , vol. 4(1), pages 21582440145, March.
    3. Conway W. Henderson, 1991. "Conditions Affecting the Use of Political Repression," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 35(1), pages 120-142, March.
    4. David A. Freedman, 2009. "Limits of Econometrics," International Econometric Review (IER), Econometric Research Association, vol. 1(1), pages 5-17, April.

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