Policy preferences regarding Muslims in Spain: The role of perceived victimhood and responsibility in the aftermath of terror attacks

Abstract

Using survey data collected in Spain in the days after the 2017 Barcelona terror attacks, this study aims to understand whether individuals can hold multiple group level perceptions of victimhood and responsibility for terror attacks. The relationships between each of these perceptions and support for three policy types negatively affecting Muslims are studied alongside the consideration that victimhood and responsibility may have joint effects on policy support. Perceptions that majority group members hold about the extent of victimhood and responsibility of two groups central to debates on terrorism, Islam and the West, are tested. We considered that perceived realistic threat (according to Integrated Threat Theory) would inform the effects of perceptions of victimhood on policy preferences while notions of group based guilt and punishment would inform the effects of perceptions of responsibility on policy preferences. It was found that multiple perceptions of victimhood and responsibility could exist alongside one another, each having their own impact on support for policies. For at least two policy types, outgroup responsibility and ingroup victimhood were found to relate to stronger support for policies negatively affecting Muslims while ingroup responsibility and outgroup victimhood were related to less support. Broad support for a dependent relationship between victimhood and responsibility was not found. As this study makes a first step into exploring the relationships between victimhood and policy preferences, we encourage future researchers to continue studying the effects of perceived victimhood and responsibility in the terror context with the limitations of our study in mind.