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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Democratic Commitment In The Middle East: A Conjoint Analysis, Hannah M. Ridge
Democratic Commitment In The Middle East: A Conjoint Analysis, Hannah M. Ridge
Political Science Faculty Articles and Research
Polls from the Middle East/North Africa show high support for democracy. However, the veracity of this support has been called into question. This study uses a conjoint analysis to show that citizens support democratic institutions, as well as favoring an effective welfare state and a state religion. The results demonstrate that support for elected governance is not contingent on the state's providing economic benefits; citizens are more likely to favor participatory government at each level of economic outcome. Interest in incorporating religion in the state, however, is contingent on the political and economic profile described; the contingent effects suggest interest …
Dismantling New Democracies: The Case Of Tunisia, Hannah M. Ridge
Dismantling New Democracies: The Case Of Tunisia, Hannah M. Ridge
Political Science Faculty Articles and Research
After a decade as the stand-out democracy of the Middle East, Tunisia took an anti-democratic turn in July 2021 with President Kaïs Saïed’s self-coup. Using a survey fielded in the weeks after these reforms, this article documents the substantial support for liberal institutions and civil rights in Tunisia. Democracy itself, on the other hand, is not so strongly supported. The study thus identifies potential for democratic backsliding in Tunisia through the strategic implementation liberal but anti-democratic actions. Other would-be authoritarians could follow Saïed’s model of strategic regression to autocratize their regimes.
Just Like The Others: Party Differences, Perception, And Satisfaction With Democracy, Hannah M. Ridge
Just Like The Others: Party Differences, Perception, And Satisfaction With Democracy, Hannah M. Ridge
Political Science Faculty Articles and Research
A robust literature on citizens’ satisfaction with democracy argues that system satisfaction is based on the policy outcomes that citizens anticipate from electoral results. A tacit assumption in this research is that there are differences between the parties and that citizens are aware of the ideological and preference diversity in their political environment. Some citizens, however, fail to perceive these differences. Using a multi-national set of post-election surveys, regression analysis, and propensity score matching, perceived party difference is shown to substantially impact citizens’ systemic satisfaction. Those who believe all parties are the same are substantially less satisfied with the functioning …
Enemy Mine: Negative Partisanship And Satisfaction With Democracy, Hannah M. Ridge
Enemy Mine: Negative Partisanship And Satisfaction With Democracy, Hannah M. Ridge
Political Science Faculty Articles and Research
Polarization has increased in recent decades, including emotional distance between partisans. While positive partisan identity has been linked to the absorption of democratic norms and democratic satisfaction, this article addresses the impact of negative partisanship on citizens’ satisfaction with the functioning of their democracies. Employing two measures of negative partisanship – dislike for a party and unwillingness to ever vote for a party – the article finds that negative partisanship is linked to lower satisfaction with democracy, particularly negative partisanship for major parties. It also finds that respondents’ sentiments towards other parties moderate the experience of electoral outcomes; the win/loss …
Teaching Democratic Theory Democratically, Mark Mattern
Teaching Democratic Theory Democratically, Mark Mattern
Political Science Faculty Articles and Research
In this article, Mattern reviews the results of one experiment in democratic education that sheds light on Democratic education in Public Schools.