Wait and See? Public Opinion Dynamics after Terrorist Attacks

We use the occurrence of the London bombings on July 7, 2005, during the fieldwork period of the British Social Attitudes Survey to analyze the dynamics of public support for measures curbing core freedoms. We observe little change in public attitudes toward counterterrorist policies in the first week after the attack. Approval of infringements on privacy and procedural rights surges in the following weeks before stabilizing at an increased level in the medium run. Our findings indicate that, when it comes to restrictive counterterrorist measures, the public adopts a wait-and-see attitude rather than reacting in fear. Ancillary analyses suggest that the media may be the source of attitudinal changes on policies curtailing civil liberties.