The Psychology of Pushback: Understanding Resistance and Compliance During Democratic Decline

Please note that this special issue edited by Jonas R. Kunst  (BI Norwegian Business School & University of Oslo) & John F Dovidio (Yale University) is currently in progress. Articles will be added to this collection as they are published. The original call for papers is available below.

Research Article

When it doesn’t get better: Leaning into minoritized identity to brace for decline

By Thomas A. Morton & Jessica Salvatore

Review

Weaponising the past: An extended SIMCA model for how social identity and collective memory shape variation in collective action responses to democratic backsliding

By Neil Lavie-Driver & Sander van der Linden

Research Article

War, what is it good for? Propaganda, value-instantiating beliefs, war support and resistance in Russia

Review

Race, memory, and colorblindness: Critical history and deconstructing United States democracy

Research Article

The politics of well-being during democratic backsliding: How partisan affiliation and support for government actions relate to happiness and life satisfaction

By Deborah J. Wu, Kyle F. Law, Stylianos Syropoulos, & Sylvia P. Perry

Research Article

Voices behind walking the talk: Quantified qualitative insights on D&I policy support reasoning

By Yonn N. A. Bokern, Jojanneke van der Toorn, & Naomi Ellemers

Research Article

Understanding public responses to counter-protests disrupting social change movements

By Hema Preya Selvanathan, Matthew J. Hornsey, Jolanda Jetten, Xanthia E. Bourdaniotis, Melinda Hewett, & Rheaa Thulasi Manoharan

Research Article

Stigma-based solidarity betrayal: Implications for resistance to the rise of ethno-nationalism in the U.S.

Research Article

White Americans’ feelings of being “last place” are associated with anti-DEI attitudes, Trump support, and Trump vote during the 2024 U.S. presidential election

Research Article

Solidarity as a bridge: Shared discrimination is indirectly associated with voting intentions among People of Color

By Kasheena G. Rogbeer & Efrén Pérez

Research Article

Collective action hinders the increase in post-election trust among election losers: Longitudinal evidence from the 2024 UK election

By Gaëlle Marinthe, Fanny Lalot, Alice Kasper, Efisio Manunta, & Genavee Brown

Research Article

Facing a dark future: Young people’s future anxiety and political attitudes in the UK and Greece

(Please note that the Article Processing Charge is waived for this special issue, given cuts in funding that authors at many institutions experience at the moment.)

Democratic backsliding and authoritarian shifts represent critical challenges to modern societies and institutions. These phenomena raise urgent questions about the psychological mechanisms that either facilitate or resist such transitions. Moreover, the deconstruction of DEI initiatives further complicates the landscape, contributing to the erosion of inclusive and pluralistic values. Despite extensive research on authoritarianism and democratic principles, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of how individuals and groups respond psychologically to the gradual decay of democratic norms and institutions.

This Special Issue, edited by Jonas R. Kunst ✉️ (BI Norwegian Business School/University of Oslo) and John F. Dovidio ✉️ (Yale University), seeks to advance our understanding of the psychological dynamics underlying resistance and compliance during periods of democratic decline. We welcome both theoretical and empirical contributions that, beside others:

• Examine the intersection of organizational and societal resistance
• Examine the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes that shape individual and collective responses to democratic backsliding
• Investigate the psychological mechanisms behind institutional and individual complicity versus resistance
• Explore the role of identity, values, and group dynamics in mobilizing or inhibiting resistance
• Analyze the psychological barriers to recognizing and responding to democratic erosion
• Study leadership psychology during periods of institutional stress
• Investigate the psychological impact of digital technologies and social media (including misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories) on resistance dynamics
• Analyze the psychological effects of democratic backsliding for mental health and well-being of dominant and marginalized groups

All submissions will undergo a rigorous and fair, transparent and double-blind peer-review process, where reviewers are compensated financially for their work. At advances.in/psychology, we are committed to inclusivity and accessibility in academic publishing. Recognizing the importance of this topic and the financial constraints that may limit participation from many scholars in current environments, the Article Processing Charges (APC) is waived for this special issue.

Deadline and Article Formats

The deadline for submission is June 30, 2025 (earlier submission is encouraged). Accepted papers will be published online and open access on a rolling basis. We accept research articles (5,000 words, excluding references), research reports (2,000 words excluding references), review/perspective papers (up to 10,000 words, excluding references), and methods papers (no length limit). The word limit may be extended upon request. You can find more information in the author guidelines.

We look forward to your submissions and collaborating with you to publish groundbreaking perspectives in this field of broad importance. In case of questions, do not hesitate to contact us at jonas.r.kunst@bi.no.

Submission Instructions