Studies in support for democracy

Abstract

Citizen support for democratic rule is considered by many scholars as a necessary condition for the consolidation and stability of democratic systems. This dissertation studies support for democracy from three different perspectives, with the objective of understanding what does it mean to support democracy in the early 21st century. Through the use of survey data and systematic comparative analysis, the thesis offers three main findings. First, that the meaning of democracy is multidimensional and support for it cannot be captured by any single indicator. Second, that supporting the ideal of democracy is not the same as having support for concrete democratic principles. And third, that the meaning of democracy is context-specific, and thus, citizens from different countries think of different things when they express democratic support.