Is Democracy Backsliding? Satisfaction with Democracy in Comparative Perspective

• In Event: Do Citizens in Democracies Still Support Democracy?

Abstract

In recent years, literature on democracy’s backsliding in various regions of the world have come to the fore. While the theory of democratic fatigue, or even backlash, was predominately developed to make sense of Central and Eastern European contexts, it has been recently considered among established Western democracies as well, especially in light of populist movements, and the success of authoritarian-leaning leaders. But is this phenomenon of ‘democracy’s backsliding’ borne out in survey data on public satisfaction with democracy and elections? Has the public worldwide become disenchanted with the quality of democracy in their country?

This paper uses comparative survey data the last four modules of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES), alongside other institutional variables, to respond to two main questions. Firstly, has overall satisfaction with democracy and elections changed over the 20-year period covered by the CSES? In what countries and contexts has it increased or decreased? Secondly, what can account for these changes in satisfaction in democracy over time? Do changes in electoral institutions, the quality of elections, or individual-level factors best account for these changes? The results speak to growing concern over public perceptions of democracy in a wide variety of contexts, and the importance of democratic institutions in strengthening the public’s value of democracy.

Authors

• Holly Ann Garnett, Royal Military College of Canada

• Patricia Elise Mockler, Queen's University