Symbolic Representation and Political Identity among Anti-vaccine Communities

• In Event: Public Meets Health Policy: How Public Influences Up, How Policy Influences Down

Abstract

This research project investigates the concerning phenomenon of political elites promoting health behaviors that may pose health risks or even death to their supporters amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary objective is to unravel the underlying motivations, power dynamics, political relationships, and strategic considerations that drive such actions, and identify what political expediency might exist that leads political elites to endorse such behaviors with potentially lethal ramifications.
This project focuses on political elites' promotion of risky health behaviors amid COVID-19 as representative of symbolic representation. This paper posits that these elites engage in such actions driven by a perceived alignment with the expectations of their constituents, often prioritizing political expediency over the well-being of the population. This study explores the growing relationship between political elites and anti-vaccine communities, recognizing the former as engaging in the promotion of anti-vaccine symbols to gain political support, and the latter as a distinct political identity actively seeking representation in the American political system. If political elites strategically align with anti-vaccine sentiments as a means to cultivate support despite the potential harm posed by such behaviors, the consequences may be dire, especially amid a global pandemic.
To empirically investigate these dynamics, this project will employ a survey experiment. This experiment aims to identify anti-vaccine beliefs in the American public as a distinct political identity within the United States and to demonstrate the desire for representation among individuals holding these beliefs. The project posits that political elites, recognizing the political capital associated with anti-vaccine sentiments, actively pursued, and amplified these views, even at the risk of exacerbating public health challenges and potentially harming or killing political supporters. Consequently, if political elites are motivated to conform with constituents who harbor anti-vaccine views as a distinct political strategy, that creates a potentially harmful incentive that prioritizes symbolic alignment over health considerations.
By better understanding the motivations and consequences of political elites promoting potentially harmful health behaviors amid COVID-19, this project will contribute to scholarship focused on the relationship between representation, public health, and partisan dynamics. Moreover, it will provide insights into the ways in which political strategies may prioritize symbolic alignment over the welfare of the population, posing challenges for effective public health governance, especially in the face of future threats to public health that will require responsible and evidenced-based approaches from political leadership.

Author

• Robert Brehm, University of Virginia