Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP15613
Authors: Julia Cag; Anna Dagorret; Pauline Grosjean; Saumitra Jha
Abstract: Can heroes legitimize strongly-proscribed and repugnant political behaviors? We exploit the purposefully arbitrary rotation of French regiments to measure the legitimizing effects of heroic credentials. 53% of French line regiments happened to rotate under a specific general, Philippe Pétain, during the pivotal WWI battle of Verdun (1916). Using recently-declassified intelligence data on 95,314 individuals, we find the home municipalities of regiments serving under Pétain at Verdun raised 7% more Nazi collaborators during the Pétain-led Vichy regime (1940-44). The effects are similar across joining Fascist parties, German forces, paramilitaries that hunted Jews and the Resistance, and collaborating economically. These municipalities also increasingly vote for right-wing parties between the wars. The voting effects persist after WWII, becoming particularly salient during social crises. We argue these results reflect the complementary role of the heroes of Verdun in legitimizing and diffusing the authoritarian values of their former leader.
Keywords: heroes; leaders; democratic values; autocracy; identity; networks; votes; legitimacy
JEL Codes: D74; N44; L14
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Municipalities whose regiments served under Pétain at Verdun (J45) | Likelihood of Nazi collaboration (F55) |
| Pétain's leadership (H56) | Legitimization of authoritarian values (P26) |
| Heroic credentials (Y70) | Political behavior in subsequent elections (D72) |
| Heroic credentials (Y70) | Voting behaviors during times of social crisis (D72) |