Government Monitoring and Political Participation in the United States: The Distinct Roles of Anger and Anxiety

Abstract

The past decade has spurred interest in the potential connection between U.S. government monitoring and political activity. Interestingly, these recent studies demonstrate that rather than chilling political activity, government monitoring in the United States positively associates with political engagement. This article seeks to determine why, for ordinary Americans, government monitoring positively relates to political participation. We argue that the balance of discrete negative emotional reactions to government monitoring provides an answer. We propose that U.S. government monitoring generates more anger than anxiety. Furthermore, we suggest that anger about government monitoring will positively associate with political activity whereas anxiety about monitoring will negatively associate with political engagement. We find support for these hypotheses using data drawn from a unique probability sample survey of U.S. residents. The dominant and discrete reaction of anger about monitoring trumps the less common reaction of anxiety, which leads to a net positive association with political activity.