Why do citizens often fail to act as effective bulwarks against democratic backsliding? Drawing on a recent monograph, this talk argues that political culture plays a key role in explaining the electoral success and sustained public support of authoritarian-leaning leaders, despite their violations of democratic rules and norms. A lack of attitudinal consolidation around liberal democratic principles leaves segments of the electorate vulnerable to material inducements as well as majoritarian and illiberal appeals.
Focusing on Poland and Hungary as two of the most prominent cases of democratic backsliding in Europe, the analysis combines focus groups, discourse analysis, and original survey data, including two conjoint experiments. The findings show that, despite widespread generic support for democracy as a regime form, citizens hold divergent understandings of democracy that shape their responses to democratic transgressions by elected leaders.
The talk theorises and empirically examines the relationship between political culture and political behaviour, highlighting the crucial role of citizens’ democratic attitudes in processes of democratic backsliding.
