Retribution or Reconciliation: Young Americans' Attitudes Toward Peaceful Transitions of Power

This exploratory study assessed the associations of age, gender, and a school climate of solidarity and pride with adolescents' endorsements of democratic regime change. Middle-and high-school students (N = 273) in the United States responded to three vignettes concerning how a society should transition from dictatorship to democracy and specifically, what should happen to the leaders, supporters, and opponents of the (former) dictatorship. Open-ended responses were coded for references to reconciliation, retribution, and reward. Older students were more likely to provide codable responses and the majority endorsed reconciliation for the leaders, supporters, and opponents of the old (dictatorship) regime. Males were more likely than females to endorse retribution against the leaders. Students were more likely to endorse reconciliation if they perceived that group solidarity and pride characterized the climate at their school. Discussion focuses on the potential of schools to develop feelings of membership and commitments to democratic norms in younger generations.