Graduation Semester and Year
Spring 2026
Language
English
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Political Science
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Christopher Chambers-Ju
Second Advisor
Bo Won Kim
Third Advisor
Kayla Canelo
Abstract
In this enquiry, I explore the conditions that make members of the public receptive to the appeals of reactionary political movements. I also explore the means by which reactionary movements leverage those conditions to gain support. I argue that crisis and status threat conditions prime members of the public to be receptive to the appeals of reactionary movements and that the strategic leveraging of these conditions in their narratives gives rise to status anxiety which, in turn, moves members of traditionally dominant groups to support these movements. I develop an explanatory theoretical framework for understanding status anxiety and its role in the rise of reactionary movements, and I demonstrate my theory by examining the conditions and narratives that helped facilitate the rise of Fidesz in Hungary and MAGA in the United States.
Keywords
Reactionary Movements, Democratic Collapse, Autocratization, Status Threat, Status Anxiety
Disciplines
Comparative Politics | Political Theory
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Randall, Timothy E., "Status Anxiety and Public Support for Reactionary Political Movements" (2026). Political Science Theses. 1.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/politicalscience_theses2/1