What satisfaction with democracy?: A global analysis of “Satisfaction with Democracy” measures
What satisfaction with democracy?: A global analysis of “Satisfaction with Democracy” measures
Asking citizens “the way democracy works” is the basis of a wide literature on the support citizens have for their political institutions and is one of the most common survey items in political science. Moreover, it is a key indicator for the purported global decline in legitimacy. Yet, its trends, levels, and dynamics are still debated, and conclusions may be erroneous. In this paper, we compile a unique global dataset between 1973 and 2018 encompassing all major cross-national datasets and national election studies in twelve countries to study the dynamics and consistency of “satisfaction with democracy” (SWD) measures globally. Our results show that while trends and between-country differences in democratic satisfaction are largely similar, the levels of satisfaction vary substantially between survey projects, and both trends and levels vary significantly in several widely studied countries. We show that this has consequences at the individual level: opting for one survey over another may alter our conclusions about the relationship between key demographics and SWD. Thus, researchers studying SWD should endeavor to consult diverse survey sources and should be cautious about their conclusions when they do not, especially when it comes to making claims about changes in SWD over time.
satisfaction with democracy, survey measurement, democratic legitimacy
10.1177%2F10659129211009605
1-15
Valgarðsson, Viktor Orri
8f30ca41-f763-4cd2-9b08-1b4ff7ab27d9
Devine, Daniel
6bfa5a27-1b58-4c61-8eb0-a7a40860a4ae
Valgarðsson, Viktor Orri
8f30ca41-f763-4cd2-9b08-1b4ff7ab27d9
Devine, Daniel
6bfa5a27-1b58-4c61-8eb0-a7a40860a4ae
Valgarðsson, Viktor Orri and Devine, Daniel
(2021)
What satisfaction with democracy?: A global analysis of “Satisfaction with Democracy” measures.
Political Research Quarterly, 5, .
(doi:10.1177%2F10659129211009605).
Abstract
Asking citizens “the way democracy works” is the basis of a wide literature on the support citizens have for their political institutions and is one of the most common survey items in political science. Moreover, it is a key indicator for the purported global decline in legitimacy. Yet, its trends, levels, and dynamics are still debated, and conclusions may be erroneous. In this paper, we compile a unique global dataset between 1973 and 2018 encompassing all major cross-national datasets and national election studies in twelve countries to study the dynamics and consistency of “satisfaction with democracy” (SWD) measures globally. Our results show that while trends and between-country differences in democratic satisfaction are largely similar, the levels of satisfaction vary substantially between survey projects, and both trends and levels vary significantly in several widely studied countries. We show that this has consequences at the individual level: opting for one survey over another may alter our conclusions about the relationship between key demographics and SWD. Thus, researchers studying SWD should endeavor to consult diverse survey sources and should be cautious about their conclusions when they do not, especially when it comes to making claims about changes in SWD over time.
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10659129211009605
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Accepted/In Press date: 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 24 May 2021
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Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The funding for this project is through the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) under Grant Number ES/J500161/1, which funded the authors’ PhD projects, and through the ESRC-funded TrustGov project (ES/S009809/1).
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© 2021 University of Utah.
Keywords:
satisfaction with democracy, survey measurement, democratic legitimacy
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Local EPrints ID: 450294
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/450294
ISSN: 1065-9129
PURE UUID: 2d69e369-1ede-4d2f-a00c-b750ec33e4b4
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Date deposited: 21 Jul 2021 16:30
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:59
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Daniel Devine
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