Why voters who value democracy participate in democratic backsliding
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Abstract
Abstract Around the world, citizens are voting away the democracies they claim to cherish. Why are they voting against their own values? In this article, we provide evidence that this behavior is driven in part by fear that their opponents might dismantle democracy first. In an observational study (N=1,973), we find that US partisans who most fear the other party’s willingness to subvert democracy are also those most willing to support subverting democracy themselves. In an experimental study (N=2,543), we use an intervention to reduce these often exaggerated fears. With these fears reduced, partisans become more committed to upholding democratic norms. They also become more willing to vote against candidates of their own party who break these norms. The findings suggest that we can foster democratic stability by strengthening trust in opposing partisans’ commitment to democracy.
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In the contemporary United States, partisans vastly misperceive outpartisans' antidemocratic attitudes and support for partisan violence.
“In the contemporary United States, partisans vastly misperceive outpartisans' antidemocratic attitudes and support for partisan violence.”
From How to study democratic backsliding (2024) · cites this paper as Braley et al. (2023)
In Study 1: Fear and Support for Backsliding, the paper reports a large gap between partisans’ perceptions of the other party’s willingness to subvert democracy and its reported willingness. The seven-item measure includes using violence to block the other party’s laws, but the cited passages do not establish a similarly large perception gap for violence specifically. (LLM, conf=0.82)
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Valentim, V. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/9780198926740.003.0006
Valentim, V. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/9780198926740.002.0006
Valentim, V. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/9780198926740.002.0005
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Valentim, V. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/9780198926740.005.0001
Valentim, V. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/9780198926740.003.0001
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Valentim, V. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/9780198926740.003.0003
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Valentim, V. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/9780198926740.003.0002
Valentim, V. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/9780198926740.002.0007
Third phase: The surfacing equilibrium
Valentim, V. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/9780198926740.003.0007
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WITHDRAWNPreprint
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- Authors
- Braley, A., Lenz, G. S., Adjodah, D., Rahnama, H., & Pentland, A.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- MIT Media Lab (US)
- Corresponding author
- Braley, Alia
- Venue
- Nature Human Behaviour
- Published
- 2023-05-22
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1282-1293
- ISSN
- 2397-3374 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4377225348
- Cited by
- 138
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 29 · 2025: 47 · 2024: 45 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 4 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 98.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature Human Behaviour (publishedVersion)
- Research Square (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of California Berkeley (NA)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (NA)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Conflict and Governance
- Keywords
- democratic backsliding, democratic norms, partisanship, democratic stability, authoritarianism, voting behavior
- MeSH terms
- Democracy, Humans, Politics
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