scholarly journals Democratic deconsolidation revisited: Young Europeans are not dissatisfied with democracy

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 205316801881433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Zilinsky
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
Industrialized Democracies ◽  
Support For Democracy ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Older Citizens

Is democracy running out of steam? In recent years, politicians, pundits, and academics have voiced the idea that young citizens in industrialized democracies lack commitment to a democratic system of politics. This paper analyzes evaluations of democracy among over 350,000 Europeans between 2002 and 2017 and shows that – contrary to popular perceptions – young people are generally more satisfied with democracy than older citizens. Moreover, satisfaction with democracy has increased among Europeans of all ages. As long as citizens believe that democratic regimes work well in practice, it is doubtful that support for democracy will erode.

scholarly journals Effective Government and Evaluations of Democracy

2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402110360
Author(s):  
Christopher Claassen ◽  
Pedro C. Magalhães
Keyword(s):  
Violent Crime ◽  
Healthcare Quality ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Quality Healthcare ◽  
Government Effectiveness ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Support For Democracy ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Diffuse Support ◽  
Democratic Support

Ineffective governance is known to weaken support for governments and leaders. However, it is less clear whether these effects spill over to the regime and erode support for the democratic system. This article returns to this classic question, now using time-series, cross-sectional data to test whether the effectiveness of governments in sustaining economic growth, providing quality healthcare, and tackling violent crime affects popular attitudes to democracy. We find that satisfaction with democracy is driven by fluctuations in economic performance and violent crime (but not healthcare quality). Diffuse support for democracy, in contrast, remains relatively impervious to changes in government effectiveness. Violent crime is the only indicator of effectiveness which has an impact on democratic support, and does so indirectly, via its influence on democratic satisfaction. These findings confirm that democratic support—which, unlike democratic satisfaction, is thought to help sustain democracy—is mostly immune to crises of performance.

scholarly journals Views on Religious Freedom among Young People in Belarus and Norway: Similarities and Contrasts

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Breskaya ◽  
Pål Ketil Botvar
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Young People ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Theoretical Discussion ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
Trust In Institutions ◽  
Country Analysis ◽  
International Research Project

The study of religious freedom has not received sufficient empirical attention from sociologists of religion, despite significant theoretical discussion of the governance of religious freedom. This article suggests empirical findings about the views on religious freedom in Belarus and Norway from the international research project “Religion and Human Rights.” The authors explore the effects of religiosity, spirituality, and cultural diversity on young people’s views of religious freedom in two countries. The comparative data from Belarus (N = 677) and Norway (N = 1001) examine patterns of attitudes towards religious freedom considering the effect of trust in institutions within democratic and non-democratic regimes. This two-country analysis reveals that religiosity, cultural diversity and trust in institutions exert a notable influence on religious freedom views in different ways in Belarus and Norway, on both non-religious young people and those from religious minorities.

scholarly journals Youth Political Strategy in Political Contestation in 2014 Legislative Electio

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-29
Author(s):  
Febriza Rizky Adela ◽  
Adil Arifin ◽  
Fernanda Putra Adela
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
Descriptive Data ◽  
Democratic System

Not many young people actively participate in or take part directly in political contestation and become part of the success of winning the contest. In this paper, it reveals the strategies of the youth to win political contestation and become a member of the DPRD of Medan City for the period 20142019, within the scope of a democratic system and succeeded in becoming one of the elected parts to represent the community in the regional legislature. The purpose of this paper is to encourage more democratic political development in increasing the participation of young groups in developing their regions. The methodology used in this paper is a qualitative approach that produces descriptive data.

Youth and Crisis

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Félix Krawatzek
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Actor ◽  
Future Expectations ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Twentieth Century Europe ◽  
European Youth

This chapter draws the findings of the case studies together and ties them to the historical context of European youth mobilization. It identifies key differences and similarities of discourse about youth and mobilization of young people between authoritarian and democratic regimes, and compares the evolution of the political and public meaning of youth in twentieth-century Europe. The shifting patterns of the meaning of youth challenge homogenizing views which treat it as a purely disruptive or idealistic political actor. Conceptual value also lies in rethinking the term generation. This concept’s prevailing past-boundedness is misleading as a future-oriented horizon of expectation plays a fundamental role in generational language. Crises are characterized by a changing relation to time and a heightened perception of possibilities. This combination leads to a differently experienced present, which updates past experiences and future expectations and simultaneously changes the relationship a society expresses to its present.

scholarly journals Challenges to Political Representation in Contemporary Chile

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rossana Castiglioni ◽  
Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser
Keyword(s):  
Political Representation ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Democratic Representation ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
Established Democracies ◽  
Critical Citizens

Democratic representation seems to be increasingly under stress in various established democracies, such as Greece, Spain, and the USA. Chile is also following this trend, but there are a number of particularities that make the Chilean case distinctive. After all, Chile is widely regarded as one of the most consolidated democratic regimes in Latin America and as having solid economic performance. However, citizens have shown decreasing levels of satisfaction with democracy and representative institutions, and are turning to protest and social mobilization to express their discontent. The paradox that Chile is facing today lies in the mismatch between the attitudes of voters and the overall performance of the regime. In explaining this intriguing puzzle, most of the literature has emphasized the legacy of institutional arrangements inherited from military rule. We argue that institutions are necessary but insufficient for explaining the increasing challenges that democratic representation faces. Thus, we also claim that it is necessary to consider not only the expansion of critical citizens and middle income earners, but also the repoliticization of inequalities.

Eastern Europe at the Crossroads of Democratic Transition

1999 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAMELA WALDRON-MOORE
Keyword(s):  
Multivariate Analysis ◽  
Distributive Justice ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Moral Worth ◽  
Economic Evaluations ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Support For Democracy

Research on Eastern European attitudes toward democracy has not comprehensively examined the economic, social, and political origins of support for and satisfaction with democracy and what these portend for democratic consolidation in Eastern Europe. Differentiating origins of mass support and satisfaction clarify whether ordinary citizens perceive democracy as a normatively correct, legitimate process of making collective and binding decisions or merely as a means to achieving efficiency and distributive justice. Multivariate analysis revealed that whereas social, economic, and psychological factors influence support, only economic evaluations predict satisfaction. This identifies support for democracy in Eastern Europe as emanating more from a recognition of the moral worth of the process than from a calculus about its benefits. However, the study reveals that dissatisfaction with democratic government abounds and may affect support. This challenges optimism for speedy consolidation, showing Eastern Europe poised to linger at the crossroads of transition for a while.

scholarly journals Populist Democrats? Unpacking the Relationship Between Populism and (Liberal) Democracy at the Citizen Level

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrej Zaslove ◽  
Maurits Meijers
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Support For Democracy ◽  
Democratic Support ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Mediated Representation

It is widely feared that the onset of populism poses a threat to democracy, as citizens' support for democracy is essential for its legitimacy and stability. Yet, the relationship between populism and democracy at the citizen level remains poorly understood, particularly with respect to support for liberal democracy. Data measuring citizens' populist attitudes in conjunction with a comprehensive range of measures of democratic support has been lacking. Using unique data from the Netherlands, we study the relationship between individuals' populist attitudes and their attitudes towards democracy in three studies. We examine the association between populism and support for democracy and satisfaction with democracy (Study 1); populism and support for liberal democracy (Study 2); and populism and support for majoritarian conceptions of democracy (Study 3). We find that while populist citizens are dissatisfied with how democracy works, they are no less supportive of the principle of democracy. Contrary to most theorizing, we find that populist citizens are largely supportive of key institutions of liberal democracy, but reject mediated representation through political parties. At the same time, populists strongly support forms of unconstrained majoritarian rule. These findings suggest that the relationship between populism and support for (liberal) democracy is more complicated than commonly assumed.

scholarly journals Satisfaction With Democracy: When Government by the People Brings Electoral Losers and Winners Together

2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402110243
Author(s):  
Lucas Leemann ◽  
Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Extensive Survey ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Do So

The last decade has witnessed the rise of populist parties and a number of actors that question liberal democracy. Many explanations of this rely on dissatisfied citizens. We ask in this article whether and how institutions allowing citizens to participate in policy-making affect differences in democratic satisfaction within varying representative contexts as well as between electoral winners and losers. To do so, we first develop a measure of sub-national direct democracy and then use it together with extensive survey data to investigate how direct democracy is associated with citizens’ evaluation of their democratic system. We conclude that direct democracy is not generally related to more satisfied people but rather closes the “satisfaction-gap” between electoral winners and losers. In contrast to previous research, we demonstrate that this mechanism holds across different representative systems.

Xenophon’s Socrates and Democracy

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivienne J. Gray
Keyword(s):  
General View ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
Support For Democracy ◽  
Basic Image ◽  
Definition Of

This article surveys Xenophon’s evidence for Socrates’ views on democracy. It offers a more balanced and complete reading of the evidence in Xenophon’s Memorabilia, and takes account of new ways to assess the definition of what is democratic. It argues that Xenophon’s basic image of Socrates is democratic (dēmotikos) in the broadest sense through an investigation of topics such as Socrates’ attitudes towards democratic laws, and the use of dokimasia and the ballot, as well as his views on oligarchic and democratic regimes of his time, the ‘royal art’ of rule, the assembly and its decisions, and the role of the wealthy in democracy. It also argues against the general view that Xenophon’s own views on democracy as expressed in his other works show no support for democracy.

scholarly journals Multiple Faces of Democrats: Satisfaction with Democracy and Support for Democracy in Malawi

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-37
Author(s):  
Michael Chasukwa
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Economic Survival ◽  
Support For Democracy ◽  
Democracy And Education ◽  
Critical Citizens

Matters of satisfaction with and support for democracy have been at the centre of discussion regarding the survival and quality of democracy in Africa since the early 1990s. While the dominant discourse claims that support for democracy keeps on increasing with time, African countries have somewhat deviated from this path. Thus, African countries have had decreasing levels of satisfaction with democracy and support for democracy since the third democratisation wave of the early 1990s. This article takes interest in the trends of satisfaction with democracy and support for democracy with the objective of explaining factors contributing to the undermining of the survival and quality of democracy. A mixed methods research design, using Afrobarometer survey data for four rounds and secondary data, is deployed to address issues pertaining to critical and satisfied democrats as raised in the article. The article finds that satisfaction with democracy and education are significant predictors of support for democracy in Malawi. It also establishes that critical democrats fight to make democracy work, albeit for their economic survival. The article argues that the survival and quality of democracy in Malawi is compromised by elite critical citizens who show commitment to democracy as a matter of principle when they are instrumentalists.

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