Political violence is becoming more and more acceptable in Europe, study shows

The latest studies show that people in Europe are increasingly accepting violence as a means of solving political problems or taking action against politicians. This is a consequence of the hardening of the political debate, the Trouw reports.

The political atmosphere in Europe has heated up in recent years. Politicians in several European countries have felt the frustration of the population firsthand: In Germany, politicians were attacked while putting up election posters, and in the Netherlands, FvD leader Thierry Baudet was hit with an umbrella. Especially after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, a debate has arisen in the Netherlands about the safety of politicians, especially those belonging to the right-wing populist spectrum.

Jonathan van 't Riet does not want to dramatize the development of political violence too much, as historically, there has always been such political behavior by the civilian population. This behavior is mostly due to the political culture of the respective country. "France has a tradition of violent protests, so look at the riots over lowering the retirement age. Germany has a problem with the far right. But in general, the atmosphere in Europe is grim," he tells Trouw.

Van 't Riet researches tolerance of political violence in the Netherlands at Radboud University's Institute of Behavioral Sciences. In his 2021 study, around a fifth of respondents said a threat was acceptable to set a politician "destroying the country" on the right path. In his new study, which has not yet been published, there was less agreement with the statement, and only a quarter of respondents still thought it was okay.

However, the acceptance of political violence has become more widespread in society. When asked that some of the problems citizens have with the government could be solved "with a few well-aimed bullets," 1.9 percent responded in 2021 that they agreed, and in the current survey, the figure is 4.8 percent.

This increase does not leave Van 't Riet unimpressed. For him, these are high figures, but he does not think that this is synonymous with supporting political assassinations or storming the government. However, the study shows that these people do not categorically reject violence against politicians.

According to the study, those who tend to see political violence as a means to an end are more likely to be male, young, and usually struggling with financial difficulties. What they have in common above all, says the researcher, is mistrust, the idea that things are happening that are not right. "I suspect that some of them feel that violence is still the only way to make their voices heard," explains Van 't Riet.