The Majoritarian Threat to Liberal Democracy

• Published in: Journal of experimental political science Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 36 - 45
• Main Authors: Grossman, Guy, Kronick, Dorothy, Levendusky, Matthew, Meredith, Marc
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.01.2022
• Subjects: Democracy; Experiments; Governors; Judicial appointments; Militancy; Norms; Partisanship; Polarization; Political science; Population; Populism; Principles; Public officials; Research Article; Threats; Voters; United States > US; populism; polarization; Democratic erosion; democratic backsliding

Incumbents often seek to wield power in ways that are formally legal but informally proscribed. Why do voters endorse these power grabs? Prior literature focuses on polarization. We propose instead that many voters are majoritarian, in that they view popularly elected leaders’ actions as inherently...