Rationalizing Violence: A Randomized Controlled Experiment of Political Vigilantism in Ghana

Political vigilantism is generally threatening to political and social structure. So why do citizens deem it justified? Debates on the phenomenon perceive it as a protest against leadership, and for that matter, public justification is driven by economic hardship and institutional failure. Taking this position, however, implies that the literature perceives the phenomenon as static – where vigilantism is always detrimental to society. I contend that this position is irreflective of the reality since rather than being fixed, political vigilantism varies by affiliation and purpose. And these attributes shape public assessment of the phenomenon. Against this backdrop, I argue that individuals’ reaction to political vigilantism vary in response to the group’s affiliation – in-group and outgroup – and the social impact of the phenomenon.