Conservatism in Brazil and the United States in the 21st Century. Characterizing the Conservative Tide

Abstract

The 21st century has seen the rise of conservatism in politics. In this context, we pose the following question: How do perceptions of crisis and latent conservatism relate to the prominence of overt conservatism in Brazil and the United States? We argue that this phenomenon occurs through perceptions of crisis and instability, which are proportionally determined by the level of latent conservatism in the political culture. Using WVS data collected between 2001 and 2018 and factor and network analysis, we conclude that 1) the relationship between situational perceptions and conservative attitudes and behaviours is mediated by beliefs; 2) there is a longitudinal decline in indicators of conservative political culture; 3) the advance of conservatism appears to be a system in which variables feed back on each other, resulting in behavioural activation.