A 2010 photo shows an unofficial license plate on a vehicle owned by an Ohio resident who was later convicted on federal charges connecting him to ‘sovereign citizen’ movement activities.
AP Photo/Jay LaPrete
At the core of sovereign citizen beliefs is the denial of the legitimacy of the government. They do not believe they must obey any laws, nor that they can be held to account for lawbreaking.
Many people who hold political views are uncertain about their opinions.
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The more ambivalent a person is about a political issue, the more likely they are to support violence and other extreme actions relating to that issue.
Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower in New York on May 30, 2024, after being found guilty on 34 felony counts.
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Donald Trump’s reaction to his conviction provides a textbook case of demagoguery – which erodes democratic institutions and can prime an audience for violence. His followers went right along.
Mahamat Idriss Deby (C) arrives at a polling station in N'Djamena on 6 May 2024 during Chad’s presidential election.
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The prime minister remains in hospital after being shot at close range.
The funeral of Bertha Gisela Gaytan, a mayoral candidate for the municipality of Celaya, Mexico, who was shot dead after her first campaign rally on April 1 2024.
STR / EPA
Mexican elections have been marred by political violence for years, and this year will be no different.
Mahamat Idriss Deby (C) waves to his supporters during his presidential campaign in N'Djamena, on 14 April 2024.
Denis Sassou Gueipeur/AFP via Getty Images
Rural white people have long held disproportionate power in US politics. But polls suggest their commitments to the American political system are eroding.
Democracy in the U.S. has historically not been available to all.
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There are potential threats to US democracy posed by the choices voters make in this presidential election. But the benefits of American democracy have for centuries been unequally available.
Yaya Dillo at a press conference on April 30, 2021 in N'djamena.
Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images
Buthelezi should not be dismissed as a mere stooge during apartheid. Yet, he deserves little praise as an advocate for human rights and civil liberties.
Weapons recovered from bandits during Operation Safe Haven in Nigeria.
Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
On the 160th anniversary of the Civil War’s Battle of Gettysburg, a political scientist finds that residents of formerly Confederate states express greater support for political violence than others.
Former President Donald Trump has said he may pardon recently convicted leaders of the Proud Boys. Here, Proud Boys members protest in Salem, Ore., on Jan. 8, 2022.
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Presidents have historically criticized judicial decisions. But Trump is taking it a step further with potentially dangerous personal attacks on judges.
A suicide attack in early March 2023 killed a Taliban governor in his office and two other victims.
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ISIS-K’s recent killings of Taliban brass are part of the extremist group’s long-term strategy. Will Taliban leaders contain the resurgence of violence?
Chair of the Board of Trustees and Head of African Futures & Innovation at the Institute for Security Studies. Extraordinary Professor in the Centre of Human Rights, University of Pretoria