Investigating the Effects of Right-Wing Terrorism on Government Satisfaction: A Time Course Analysis of the 2019 Christchurch Terror Attack

We examine political attitude change using data from a large national probability sample collected over the months leading up to, and following, 2019 March 15 terror attacks against Muslim minority community in Christchurch, New Zealand. Satisfaction with government declined prior to attack, rose sharply immediately following returned pre-attack levels roughly 3 after attack. Support for ruling centre-left Labour party followed similar trend, whereas centre-right National support was unchanged. These results provide valuable comparison studies focusing on effects of Islamist attacks, insight into time-course by examining far right terrorism toward community.