With election denial becoming a new global trend, it is necessary to ask why so many citizens would accept leaders who fraudulently cry “fraud.” Even when they leave power quietly, populist politicians have exploited political polarization and indoctrinated their supporters never to trust the system.
PRINCETON – In the run-up to Brazil’s presidential election next month, President Jair Bolsonaro is crafting his own version of former US President Donald Trump’s “Big Lie”: the claim that a loss at the ballot box is fraudulent. Incumbents who adopt this tactic might simply refuse to concede, while still leaving quietly. Or, more dangerously, they can foment outrage and even incite violence by their supporters.
PRINCETON – In the run-up to Brazil’s presidential election next month, President Jair Bolsonaro is crafting his own version of former US President Donald Trump’s “Big Lie”: the claim that a loss at the ballot box is fraudulent. Incumbents who adopt this tactic might simply refuse to concede, while still leaving quietly. Or, more dangerously, they can foment outrage and even incite violence by their supporters.