That's my autocrat: Self‐uncertainty elevates support for autocratic leadership during Canada's Freedom Convoy

Abstract

Canada's 2022 Freedom Convoy protests and blockades caused significant disruption, and many Canadians advocated for strong, forceful, and even autocratic responses from their government. In democratic nations, autocratic leadership is typically seen as undesirable and receives less support than democratic leadership. However, when group members experience significant identity‐related self‐uncertainty, they may have an accentuated desire for strong, directive leadership to help manage the uncertainty. Canadian participants (N = 406) reported their level of self‐uncertainty, rated how autocratic they perceived Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be, reported their level of support for Justin Trudeau, and reported their support for strong responses to the Freedom Convoy. Self‐uncertainty moderated the relationship between leadership style and leader support. Perceived autocratic leadership style predicted significantly less leader support, but this relationship was weakened among participants high in self‐uncertainty, who reported increased support for an autocratic leader. Further, self‐uncertainty predicted a greater desire for a strong leader, willingness to restrict civil liberties, and support for expanded government powers. These results suggest that the typical preference for democratic leadership weakens when self‐uncertainty is elevated.Public significance statementUncertainty about one's identity lays the groundwork for autocratic leadership to emerge. Elevated self‐uncertainty was associated with a greater desire for a strong leader who is willing to challenge democratic values and practices, a greater willingness to restrict civil liberties, greater support for expanded government powers in response to a national crisis, and greater support for a national leader perceived as autocratic.