The role of ethnic divisions in people’s attitudes toward the death penalty: The case of the Albanians

Abstract

Are there specific ethnocultural features that make people support the death penalty, or does support of capital punishment simply reflect people's position vis-à-vis power? Much of the existing research on this topic has been developed in the absence of an appropriate control group. However, this question can be answered only if ethnonational culture remains constant across different political and socioeconomic settings. In order to achieve such a goal, we focus our research on the Balkans where several social settings fit such a research design; we chose ethnic Albanians as our ethnonational culture of focus. We built a research design that would allow our key independent variable, people's position in country's power structure, to vary across three countries: Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro. In each of these three countries, ethnic Albanians are situated in different positions of the sociopolitical power structure, from the absolutely dominant ethnic group in Albania proper; to an embattled ethnic minority in Macedonia; to a tiny, compact, but peaceful ethnic minority in Montenegro. By analyzing data collected via public opinion surveys, we conclude that, indeed, whether respondents belong to a dominant ethnic group or an ethnic minority affects their attitudes toward the death penalty.

The Predictive Model of Citizens’ Attitudes About the Risks of Introducing the Death Penalty in the Legal System: A Case Study of Serbia

“…That is why, in their research, they focused on three countries in the Balkans -Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro -and ethnic Albanians who occupy different socio-political power structures in each of these countries. According to the results, they concluded that the affiliation of the respondents to an ethnic minority or a dominant ethnic group is a significant predictor of their attitudes towards the death penalty (Peshkopia & Stephen Voss, 2016). In their second study, the authors kept the focus on the Balkan countries and found greater opposition to the death penalty among members of minority groups than was the case with members of the majority, in line with the findings of a study in the United States .…”

“…As they point out by Peshkopia and Stephen Voss (2016), precise identification and determination of the influence of specific ethnocultural characteristics on attitudes about the death penalty are possible only if there is a constancy of a certain ethnonational culture in different socio-economic and political frameworks. That is why, in their research, they focused on three countries in the Balkans -Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro -and ethnic Albanians who occupy different socio-political power structures in each of these countries.…”

Perceived Immigrant Threat and Punitive Attitudes: The Moderating Effect of Economic Insecurity

“…To be sure, some studies outside the United States have included minority status. For example, Peshkopia and Stephen Voss (2016) found ethnic minorities in Albania to be less likely to support the death penalty than members of the majority. The relationship between race/ethnicity and punitiveness does, however, remain an understudied topic in the European context.…”

The predictive model of citizens' attitudes about the risks of introducing death penalty in the Serbian criminal justice system

“…Fear of crime in the neighbourhood especially generates a greater willingness to approve death penalty in public (Keil & Vito, 1991), while economic anxieties and insecurities, mediated by fear of crime, also have different effects on attitudes towards punishment (Singer et al, 2020). As pointed out by Peshkopia and Voss (2016a), precise identification and determination of the influence of specific ethnocultural characteristics on attitudes about death penalty are possible only if there is a constancy of a certain ethnonational culture in different socio-economic and political frameworks. That is why, in their research, they focused on three countries in the Balkans -Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro -and ethnic Albanians who occupy different socio-political power structures in each of these countries.…”