The Institutions and Civic Virtues That Support Democracy

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

Democracy has come under severe pressure in recent years. At least 25 countries, making up 34% of the world's population, have according to the 2021 Democracy Report of the Varieties of Democracy Institute been affected by the "third wave of autocratization". Many other countries have fortunately avoided this fate, but nonetheless display worrying increases in institutional distrust, electoral apathy, and political polarization. This timely panel brings together four papers that help us better understand how the institutions and civic virtues that undergird well-functioning democratic institutions arise and can be strengthened.

Democracy can only function if citizens actively participate in the electoral process. Tine Paulsen, Kenneth Scheve, and David Stasavage examine to what extent better education can increase electoral engagement. To answer this question they examine the long run effect of the introduction of "common school" funds in the United States at the turn of the 19th century.

Research in comparative politics has long suggested that democracy is more difficult to sustain under conditions of extreme political polarization. Sam van Noort uses a survey experiment to examine whether political polarization in the United States can be reduced by better informing people about the content of scientific evidence. More in particular, van Noort examines whether informing citizens about why scientists believe that human-caused climate change and systemic racism are real, rather than only informing citizens that scientists believe this is the case, can reduce polarization on these two key policy issues.

Democratic stability fundamentally relies on the legitimacy of democracy as a political system. Jan Vogler examines to what extent trust in democracy is determined by the quality of public services that are provided by a country' public administration, and, conversely, whether poor public service provision can cause democracy to lose legitimacy in the eyes of the general public.

At its very minimum democracy entails the populace selecting their political leaders through competitive elections. Adriane Fresh examines how the political institution of leadership contests originated in the first place. To do so she collects novel data from 1400 to 1700 England and Wales, where such institutions were first systematically recorded.

Taken together the papers make an important and complementary contribution to our understanding of how democracy arises, and what is necessary for it to be sustained.

Sub Unit

• Division 44: Democracy and Autocracy

Individual Presentations

• Education as an Investment in Democracy: Lessons from the Early Republic - Tine N Paulsen, University of Southern California; Kenneth F. Scheve, Yale University; David Stasavage, New York University

• Can Scientific Evidence on Racism and Climate Change Reduce Polarization? - Sam van Noort, Princeton University

• How the Administrative State Shapes Citizens’ Trust in Democracy - Jan P. Vogler, University of Konstanz

• The Modern Origins of Political Contestation - Adriane Fresh, Duke University

Chair

• Ali Cirone Yale ISPS / Cornell University

Discussants

• Bryn Rosenfeld Cornell University

• Pablo Beramendi Duke University