Shifting Democratic Social Norms: The Role of Political Elites

• In Event: Networks, Elites and Social Norms

Abstract

Recent scholarship has shed light on the crucial role of political leaders in shifting social norms, from the normalization of radical right attitudes to the erosion of anti-racist norms. Despite this focus on the effects of elite behavior on social norms, there remains a gap on how elite behavior contributes to democratic backsliding from a social norm perspective. This paper seeks to fill this gap by analyzing the role of political elites in shifting democratic social norms using a computational text analysis approach. Drawing on 3 million tweets from elected officials in four established democracies, this paper develops the first-to-date dictionary of democratic norms at the elite level and provides preliminary evidence of a shift in the use of democratic norms in elites' direct communications. Further exploration of the cross-national variations of this shift reveals the interaction of mainstream and challenger elites as a key factor. This study contributes to existing literature by highlighting the important role of elites in challenging established democratic norms.

Author

• Morgan Le Corre Juratic, Aarhus University