Making the Case for Democracy

• In Event: Experiments in Inter-Group Relations

Abstract

In light of the third wave of autocratization and wide-spread concerns about citizens turning away from democracy, we test the effectiveness of "democratic talk" as a means of countering democratic fatigue among citizens. Specifically, we designed and implemented a pre-registered (https://osf.io/jv9ng/) online field experiment in collaboration with eight German federal and state representatives, representing 5 German parties (1 Christian Democrat, 3 Social Democrats, 2 Liberals, 1 Green, 1 Left Party), where we invited a heterogeneous sample of German citizens recruited via quota sampling on Facebook to participate in one of 16 Zoom townhalls. The townhalls were advertised as opportunities for citizens to meet representatives and discuss with them about COVID-19. The townhalls involving around 300 participants took place between November 2020 and January 2021. Each representative conducted two townhalls. We used pair-random assignment to determine whether during the townhall, the representative engages in a particular style of communication that we conceptualise as "democratic talk", or not. Democratic talk deliberately acknowledges the existence of diverging opinions and the general legitimacy of critiques of democratic practices while actively making the case for liberal democracy and democratic processes, including independent courts. We test the proposition that 'democratic talk' strengthens support for liberal democracy and alleviates reservations towards democratic institutions among citizens who have grown skeptical of democracy. Attitudinal outcomes are measured via a two-wave panel survey and a Zoom poll, and behavioural outcomes are measured via e-petitions and email newsletters subjects can sign or subscribe to at the end of the townhall. We find modest but significant and positive effects of democratic talk on some primary outcomes, such as citizens' support for democracy.

Authors

• Alexander Wuttke, University of Mannheim

• Florian Foos, London School of Economics and Political Science