Dr Monica Gerber Plüss

From Compliance to Resistance: How Do Citizens Relate to and Position Themselves Towards the Police?

Police work requires public support to function in a democratic context. The belief that the police are legitimate facilitates compliance with rules, as well as cooperation with authorities. A socially legitimate police force, in turn, should require little violence to confront opposition. However, during the last years the world has seen many cases of violent demonstrations, police violence and human rights violations.

The proposed investigation will examine police legitimacy and dispositions towards the police in Chile, a country where police repression has reduced its legitimacy to historically low levels. It will adopt a longitudinal perspective to examine police legitimacy and citizens willingness to comply with the police. The Visiting Fellowship will promote collaboration in (a) the writing of at least one article with already available data, (b) the design of a probability-based random panel study to be conducted during 2023, and (c) the joint application to a research grant.