(iPoster) Party System Change and Citizens’ Satisfaction with Democracy

• In Event: Poster Sessions: Public Opinion 1 & Diverse Perspectives on South Asian Politics
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Public Opinion 1

Abstract

Since party systems determine the choices voters have at the ballot box, it is intuitive to expect that party system characteristics influence citizens' satisfaction with democracy. Although cross-national studies (e.g., Ridge 2023) have advanced our understanding of party system effects on satisfaction with democracy, such analyses face difficulties that stem from inherent country-level variation. In this study, I employ surveys from Japan to examine this question. Japan is an ideal case because it has had different party systems (a de facto two-party system between 2003 and 2009 and an asymmetrical system after 2009), yet it is a long-standing democracy. Findings from this study will have important implications for the design of democratic institutions.

Author

• Ko Maeda, University of North Texas