Authoritarianism and the Desire to Punish Non-Conforming Individuals during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic states, organisations, and individuals try to cope with various challenges. Individuals could have experienced anomie and fear. In the attempt to cope with the situation, some might have responded with a need for solidarity and conformity. Above, authoritarian attitudes as well as punitiveness could have been strengthened. This paper aims to find out how these aspects were perceived during the COVID-19 pandemic and if they contribute to the wish to punish non-conforming individuals. To this purpose, an online-study was carried out in Germany (n = 285). As a result, punitiveness can be partly explained by expected solidarity, a need for conformity, fear of health damages caused by the COVID-19 virus, and by authoritarian aggression. Finally, it is argued that political narratives that emphasize solidarity and the hazardousness of the COVID-19 virus risk social problems, such as rising social pressure, fragmentation and a punitive culture.