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Cited by 2Populism, Right-Wing MovementsPolitical Theory and DemocracyElectoral Systems and Political Participation

How polarization, populist attitudes, and cultural backlash affect citizens’ support for democracy: Evidence from Spain

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Palacios Brihuega, Irene, Garrido Rubia, Antonio, Martínez Rodríguez, Antonia·2025·Revista Internacional de Sociología
DOI 10.3989/ris.2024.82.4.1304
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Abstract

ABSTRACT In recent years, substantial scholarly attention has been devoted to understanding the consequences of three increasing phenomena on democratic legitimacy: populism, polarization, and cultural backlash. While the literature has widely acknowledged the common roots of the three phenomena and the way they mutually influence each other, little is known about their empirical relationship at the attitudinal level. Using data from Spain, this article examines whether and how affective polarization, populist attitudes, and cultural backlash values are connected to citizens’ attitudes, and the extent to which they affect support for democracy as the best form of government. The results indicate that holding consistently populist views, conservative cultural values, and being affectively polarized is particularly harmful for democracy when this attitudinal pattern is maintained by younger individuals. We discuss the implications that socialization in democratic environments marked by frequent populist rhetoric and rising polarization might have on younger generations’ democratic commitment.

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  • La primacía del afecto sobre la ideología se manifiesta en un incremento del rechazo emocional, la desconfianza interpersonal por motivos políticos y la formación de «tribus» emocionales que dificultan el entendimiento mutuo y la deliberación.

    “Esta primacía del afecto sobre la ideología se manifiesta en un incremento del rechazo emocional, la desconfianza interpersonal por motivos políticos (Rojo, 2025) y la formación de «tribus» emocionales que dificultan el entendimiento mutuo y la deliberación (Herrero et al., 2022;Palacios et al., 2025).”

    From Polarización política y afectiva en España: una revisión sistemática exploratoria (2026) · cites this paper as Palacios et al., 2025

    Split into 2 atoms — 1 confirmed, 1 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

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  • Algunos estudios del corpus alertan sobre los riesgos que la combinación de polarización extrema, discursos populistas y el fenómeno de la posverdad pueden suponer para la estabilidad del Estado de Derecho.

    “Algunos estudios del corpus alertan sobre los riesgos que la combinación de polarización extrema, discursos populistas y el fenómeno de la posverdad pueden suponer para la estabilidad del Estado de Derecho (Palacios et al., 2025;Sansó-Rubert et al., 2024).”

    From Polarización política y afectiva en España: una revisión sistemática exploratoria (2026) · cites this paper as Palacios et al., 2025

    The Introduction and Discussion and Conclusion warn that polarization and populism can strain liberal democracy. But the paper discusses cultural backlash, not post-truth, and does not attribute a risk to the rule of law to the claimed three-way combination. Its analysis of Spain also finds no significant association between affective polarization and support for democracy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Persiste la discusión sobre la ponderación causal de los distintos actores, así como matices en la relación entre polarización y desafección.

    “Persiste la discusión sobre la ponderación causal de los distintos actores, así como matices en la relación entre polarización y desafección (Palacios et al., 2025).”

    From Polarización política y afectiva en España: una revisión sistemática exploratoria (2026) · cites this paper as Palacios et al., 2025

    En «The association between populist attitudes, cultural backlash, affective polarization, and democratic support» (sin página indicada), el artículo encuentra que la polarización afectiva parece no estar relacionada con el apoyo a la democracia, un matiz pertinente frente a la idea de una relación simple con la desafección. También examina distintas actitudes, pero los pasajes consultados no establecen que persista una discusión sobre el peso causal de distintos actores; esa parte de la frase no queda respaldada. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Estos temas, al tocar fibras sensibles de pertenencia y concepción del mundo, sobre todo para un sector conservador de la sociedad, son muy susceptibles a la polarización afectiva y simbólica.

    “Estos temas, al tocar fibras sensibles de pertenencia y concepción del mundo, sobre todo para un sector conservador de la sociedad, son muy susceptibles a la polarización afectiva y simbólica(Palacios et al., 2025).”

    From Polarización política y afectiva en España: una revisión sistemática exploratoria (2026) · cites this paper as Palacios et al., 2025

    The Hypotheses section (page unavailable) links cultural backlash and affective polarization through shared in-group/out-group attitudes. The Theoretical Framework and Independent variables sections also connect conservative views on immigration and feminism to social identity and hostility toward out-groups. The copy does not establish that these issues are especially susceptible to a distinct form of “symbolic polarization,” or that conservatives are uniquely susceptible. (LLM, conf=0.79)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Según sus hallazgos, es la «reacción cultural» conservadora la que se correlaciona con más fuerza con la desafección.

    “Según sus hallazgos, es la «reacción cultural» conservadora la que se correlaciona con más fuerza con la desafección”

    From Polarización política y afectiva en España: una revisión sistemática exploratoria (2026) · cites this paper as Palacios et al., 2025

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Authors
Palacios Brihuega, I., Garrido Rubia, A., & Martínez Rodríguez, A.
ORCID
Venue
Revista Internacional de Sociología
Publisher
Editorial CSIC
Published
2025-02-04
Volume
82
Issue
4
Pages
e262
ISSN
  • 0034-9712 (ISSN-L)
  • 1988-429X
DOI
10.3989/ris.2024.82.4.1304
OpenAlex
W4407116323
Cited by
2
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 2
FWCI
7.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Revista Internacional de Sociología (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Hispana (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia (21876/PI/2022)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Populism, Right-Wing Movements
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
Keywords
affective polarization, populist attitudes, cultural backlash, support for democracy, democratic legitimacy, youth, democratic commitment, populism, Spain

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