What Kind of Democracy Do We All Support? How Partisan Interest Impacts a Citizen’s Conceptualization of Democracy

Despite waves of democratic backsliding over the last decade, most global citizens still claim to support democracy. On the other hand, many citizens become more supportive of specific anti-democratic actions when their preferred political side can benefit. How, then, do citizens justify their consi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inComparative political studies Vol. 56; no. 10; pp. 1597 - 1627
Main Author Bryan, James D.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2023
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Citizens
Concept formation
Cross-sectional studies
Democracy
Liberal democracy
Motivated reasoning
Partisanship
Political parties
Political power
Polls & surveys
Self interest
polarization
support for democracy
democratic backsliding
conceptualization of democracy
partisanship
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Summary:Despite waves of democratic backsliding over the last decade, most global citizens still claim to support democracy. On the other hand, many citizens become more supportive of specific anti-democratic actions when their preferred political side can benefit. How, then, do citizens justify their consistent “explicit support for democracy” with their more malleable support for the implementation of liberal democracy? This paper uses cross-national survey data from 74 countries and two methods—a standard cross-sectional analysis and a within-country variation design—to show that a citizen’s conceptualization of democracy, or what democracy means to them, is subject to partisan-motivated reasoning. In other words, citizens are more likely to conceptualize democracy in illiberal terms, like emphasizing the need for obeying authority, when their preferred political party is in power. The findings suggest one’s conception of democracy can be a fluid attitude that citizens mold to match their partisan self-interest.
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ISSN:0010-4140
1552-3829
DOI:10.1177/00104140231152784