Does civil war breed authoritarian values?

The study examines the link between civil war exposure and authoritarianism using survey data from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Croatia. It finds that while direct personal loss does not consistently increase authoritarianism, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are strongly associated with a more authoritarian value orientation across all three countries. The author argues that the individual's ability to cope with trauma, rather than violence itself, is the primary driver of these values, which may hinder democratic consolidation in the region.

• Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are consistently linked to a stronger authoritarian value orientation across all three studied countries.
• The hypothesis that personal loss of a close relative or friend increases authoritarianism was not supported; in Bosnia-Herzegovina, such loss was actually associated with reduced authoritarianism.
• Authoritarian values are most prevalent in Kosovo, where the mean score on the authoritarianism scale was approximately 4.1, significantly higher than in Bosnia (3.1) and Croatia (2.8).
• Socio-demographic factors, particularly higher education and residence in larger cities, are strong predictors of more liberal values.
• The author concludes that the primary mechanism through which war influences political values is the individual's capacity to cope with trauma rather than the objective level of violence experienced.

APA

DYRSTAD, K. (n.d.). Does civil war breed authoritarian values? Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/c825f928-1d19-4cc8-a49f-b0011d00e0cc/Does civil war breed authoritarian values An empirical study of Bosnia-herzegovina Kosovo and Croatia.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

DYRSTAD, KARIN. Does civil war breed authoritarian values? Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/c825f928-1d19-4cc8-a49f-b0011d00e0cc/Does civil war breed authoritarian values An empirical study of Bosnia-herzegovina Kosovo and Croatia.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=DYRSTAD |first1=KARIN |title=Does civil war breed authoritarian values? |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/c825f928-1d19-4cc8-a49f-b0011d00e0cc/Does civil war breed authoritarian values An empirical study of Bosnia-herzegovina Kosovo and Croatia.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dyrstadnddoes, author = {DYRSTAD, KARIN}, title = {{Does civil war breed authoritarian values?}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/c825f928-1d19-4cc8-a49f-b0011d00e0cc/Does civil war breed authoritarian values An empirical study of Bosnia-herzegovina Kosovo and Croatia.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }