Fear Unchecked: The Role of Mass Fear in Civil Liberties Reductions after Terrorist Attacks.

How is the public affected by terrorist attacks? Numerous scholars have posited that the public typically overreacts to threats, others contend that the public is rational in its opinions. In this paper, the role of the public in post-terror attack civil liberty abridgements will be discussed. In the end, it will be shown, through studying public opinion polls from the US, UK and Israel, that public fear levels jump up after terrorist attacks and that this jump is concomitant with a demand for action. The public is also more willing to cede liberties after attacks. These factors create an opportunity for the executive to act. However, public fears and the willingness to trade liberties-for-security fade, or decay, over time, thus eventually constraining executive action. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]