Why voters who value democracy participate in democratic backsliding.
Journal
Nature human behaviour
ISSN: 2397-3374
Titre abrégé: Nat Hum Behav
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101697750
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
08 2023
08 2023
Historique:
received:
16
06
2022
accepted:
03
04
2023
medline:
24
8
2023
pubmed:
23
5
2023
entrez:
22
5
2023
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Around the world, citizens are voting away the democracies they claim to cherish. Here we present evidence that this behaviour is driven in part by the belief that their opponents will undermine democracy first. In an observational study (N = 1,973), we find that US partisans are willing to subvert democratic norms to the extent that they believe opposing partisans are willing to do the same. In experimental studies (N = 2,543, N = 1,848), we revealed to partisans that their opponents are more committed to democratic norms than they think. As a result, the partisans became more committed to upholding democratic norms themselves and less willing to vote for candidates who break these norms. These findings suggest that aspiring autocrats may instigate democratic backsliding by accusing their opponents of subverting democracy and that we can foster democratic stability by informing partisans about the other side's commitment to democracy.
Identifiants
pubmed: 37217740
doi: 10.1038/s41562-023-01594-w
pii: 10.1038/s41562-023-01594-w
doi:
Types de publication
Observational Study
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
1282-1293Informations de copyright
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
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