Gerrymandering erodes confidence in democracy 🗳️, finds study of nearly 30,000 US voters. When politicians redraw congressional district maps to favor their party, they may secure short-term victories. But those wins can come at a steep price — a loss of public faith in elections and democracy itself.

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#Gerrymandering #Democracy #VoterTrust #ElectionIntegrity #PoliticalReform

In recent years, right-wing populist parties have experienced significant political success across nearly all Western democracies. With their increasing political establishment, xenophobic attitudes have become normalized, including discrimination by public authorities. 🗳️🌍💔

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#RightWingPopulism #PoliticalSuccess #Xenophobia #Democracy #SocialJustice

💰 Northwestern University research reveals American voters' support for democratic norms is highly conditional, often declining substantially when facing economic hardship.

📊 A study involving over 600 U.S. residents used advanced behavioral experiments to show that what Americans say about democracy doesn't match their choices when forced to trade off democratic principles against economic security.

⚖️ Economic well-being emerged as the strongest driver of these democratic trade-offs, with financial insecurity leading to greater tolerance for illiberal conditions. Age and education, not ideology, were stronger predictors of commitment to democratic norms.

#Democracy #USPolitics #Elections

📊 A new study identifies two distinct types of populist attitudes: "anti-establishment" (focusing on anti-elitism and people-centrism) and "authoritarian" (emphasizing majoritarianism, strongman rule, and nationalism).

🌍 Survey data from nine countries (Italy, Hungary, Poland, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, France, Canada, and the United States) found that authoritarian populist attitudes are the primary driver of support for populist leaders in six of those countries.

🇨🇦🇫🇷 In contrast, anti-establishment populism was the main driver of support for populist leaders in France and Canada. Neither type of populist attitude significantly influenced support for populist leaders in the United States.

⚖️ The research indicates that support for populist strongmen is often rooted in a desire for authoritarian governance rather than democratic ideals.

#Populism #PoliticalScience #Democracy

There are parallels between current environment and the 1930s (geopolitical tensions, political polarization, trade conflicts, and regional wars). Japanese study found that international economic and political shocks can weaken democratic checks and drive elites to align with authoritarian power.

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#Geopolitics #Democracy #InternationalRelations

Why voting ‘neither’ could harm American democracy. Researchers found that about half of the U.S. population expresses an attitude of democratic neutrality — or an “unwillingness to support or oppose policies or practices that undermine democracy,

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#Democracy #Voting #CivicEngagement

🗳️ "Democratic Neutrals" Pose Biggest Threat to US Democracy: A University of Notre Dame study found that voters who are undecided or unwilling to support or oppose policies undermining democracy, rather than those who actively support such practices, are the primary concern for democratic decline.

📊 Half of Americans Show Democratic Neutrality: Surveys of over 45,000 Americans revealed that approximately 50% express neutrality towards undemocratic practices like reducing polling stations or ignoring court decisions. This "neither support nor oppose" stance allows elected officials to pursue antidemocratic outcomes.

🤝 Neutrality Cuts Across Party Lines: This neutrality exists at similar rates among Republicans, Democrats, and nonpartisans. The study notes that this indifference allows leaders to undermine democracy without public accountability.

💡 Rethinking Democracy Promotion: Researchers suggest that persuading these neutral voters, who are as likely to vote for authoritarian politicians as those who explicitly support undemocratic practices, will require a new strategy, especially ahead of the 2026 midterms.

#Democracy #USPolitics #NotreDame

Polarised elections do not erode support for the basic principles of democracy, finds study of 30 countries. Winning voters do not usually support leaders who “take revenge”, and losers continue to accept the majority's right to govern, provided that minority rights are protected.

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#Democracy #PoliticalScience #ElectionResearch

🗳️ A study of 35 elections across 30 countries by UAB and UOC researchers found that while election outcomes affect voter satisfaction with democracy, they do not erode support for fundamental democratic principles like institutional restraint and losers' consent.

🤝 Even in highly polarized environments, winning voters generally do not support vindictive actions by leaders, and losing voters continue to accept the majority's right to govern, provided minority rights are protected.

📊 Analysis of data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) covering 2016-2021 indicates that satisfaction with democracy fluctuates more significantly with wins and losses than support for core democratic norms.

#Democracy #PoliticalScience #Research

Authoritarians do not support democracy, populists support democracy as much as non-populists, and radical right-wing citizens are less likely to support ‘democracy’ than moderate citizens, finds a new study of 14,000 Western Europeans.

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#Democracy #Populism #WesternEurope

⚡️ Political anger only fuels support for undemocratic practices when individuals feel ignored by the political system. A study of 1,713 U.S. adults, surveyed eight weeks around the 2024 election, found that a belief in government responsiveness acts as a buffer against endorsing political violence.

💭 When people believe the government listens (high external political efficacy), intense anger is less likely to lead to support for violence or undemocratic acts. Instead, moderate anger in these individuals may prompt engagement through democratic channels.

📉 Conversely, those with low external political efficacy showed a direct link: as anger increased, so did their support for undemocratic practices, partisan violence, and general political violence.

📢 The study, published in Political Psychology, suggests that fostering a sense of political efficacy is crucial for democracies to channel strong emotions into productive civic participation.

#PoliticalPsychology #Democracy #CivicEngagement

🔥 Aggressive political language makes people feel their core values are threatened, regardless of their own political views.

🔬 New psychological experiments reveal that "demagogic discourse" – which scapegoats groups, uses personal insults, and attacks democratic institutions – significantly reduces willingness to grant free speech to political rivals in some contexts.

🇺🇸 In the US, participants satisfied with democracy became less tolerant after exposure to demagogic speech, while those dissatisfied with the system showed increased tolerance, possibly resonating with anti-establishment rhetoric.

💡 Researchers suggest sustained exposure to hostile political communication could amplify these effects or lead to habituation, and that cultural norms may influence outcomes differently worldwide.

#PoliticalPsychology #Democracy #CivicEngagement

🇺🇸 A new study of 8,248 American adults (May-June 2025) found 88% believe the US must remain a democracy. However, 15% strongly agree a strong leader is more important than democracy, equating to nearly 40 million adults.

⚖️ The research, published in Injury Epidemiology and led by Garen Wintemute, also revealed varying support for government force: 1 in 10 respondents backed using the military for domestic policy, and 5-7% supported arresting critics and journalists.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Personal willingness for political violence remains low (around 2% willing), but younger adults (under 25) and MAGA Republicans showed higher support for authoritarian concepts compared to strong Democrats.

#Democracy #Authoritarianism #USPolitics

• 🗳️ Study in Public Opinion Quarterly finds mandatory voting doesn't automatically increase political interest or democratic support. Removing penalties for not voting drastically cut participation but left engagement and attitudes largely unchanged.

• 🇧🇪 Belgium's policy change in 2021 allowing Flanders to opt out of mandatory local voting in 2024 provided a unique real-world test. Turnout in Flanders plummeted from ~92% to ~63% for local elections, while remaining high (~84%) in regions with mandatory voting.

• 📊 Despite the sharp drop in voting, researchers found no significant differences in how political attitudes evolved between Flanders and the rest of Belgium. Satisfaction with democracy, political interest, and knowledge remained stable across regions.

• 🧑‍🔬 The act of voting, whether required or voluntary, doesn't appear to drive deep changes in core political attitudes. Even citizens who stopped voting after the requirement was lifted showed no measurable drop in political interest or democratic support.

#CompulsoryVoting #Democracy #PoliticalScience

* 📚 New research published in the American Journal of Political Science reveals that support for authoritarian leaders can spread socially. A study of over 1,300 Norwegian military recruits showed that individuals adjusted their views on strongman rule to match their roommates' attitudes.

* 📈 This "social contagion effect" was also observed in a survey of 1,500 general Norwegian citizens and a large cross-national sample of over 25,000 respondents from 29 countries, suggesting political preferences can be responsive to social cues and peer opinions.

* 💡 The findings suggest that attitudes toward democracy are not fixed but can be influenced by the surrounding social climate, offering potential for both amplification of authoritarian movements and reinforcement of democratic principles by making support for them visible.

#Politics #Democracy #SocialScience

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🗳️ Completely fair elections are impossible according to mathematicians from the University of Cambridge and University of Copenhagen. Any electoral system faces trade-offs between local votes translating to local seats, overall vote shares matching total seats, and parliamentary size.

⚖️ Recent elections highlight these trade-offs: In Denmark's 2022 election, the left bloc won with fewer votes than the right bloc. Germany's Bundestag ballooned to 736 seats before reforms in 2023. The UK's 2024 election was its least proportional, with Labour winning 63% of seats on 33.7% of the vote.

💡 Researchers propose an algorithm, 'geographically ranked guaranteed proportionality,' to better balance regional representation, proportionality, and parliament size, aiming to achieve these principles approximately.

#ElectoralReform #FairElections #Democracy

People who perceive their country as more democratic tend to report better mental health. The study suggests that believing one's political system is fair, responsive, and representative may contribute to greater psychological well-being and life satisfaction.

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#MentalHealth #Democracy #WellBeing

✅ Living in a democracy is linked to better mental health, especially when citizens feel a genuine sense of personal freedom, according to a study published in Political Psychology.

✅ Researchers found that the subjective experience of democracy, where citizens feel they have autonomy and choice, is a stronger predictor of well-being than objective institutional measures alone.

✅ Analysis of data from 92 countries between 2005-2022 showed that as objective democratic conditions improved, citizen perceptions of democracy also rose, leading to increased autonomy, happiness, and life satisfaction.

#Democracy #MentalHealth #Psychology

* 🏛️ A new study reveals that strong personal commitment to liberal democratic principles can help voters resist politicians who threaten democratic rules, even when party loyalty is high.

* 📊 Research led by Christopher Claassen, involving 5,951 participants across the US, Poland, and South Korea, found that backing for core institutions like free speech and the rule of law was the most consistent predictor of choosing pro-democratic candidates in simulated elections.

* ⚖️ Even in challenging scenarios where a voter might choose between a pro-democratic candidate from an opposing party and an anti-democratic candidate from their own, support for liberal democracy increased the likelihood of choosing the pro-democratic option by 2-12 percentage points.

#Democracy #PoliticalScience #Research

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📊 Study reveals how deep political divides shape views on major events like Black Lives Matter protests and January 6th Capitol attack. Researchers Rongbo Jin and Spencer Lindsay found that intense dislike for the opposing party, not just party labels, drives these interpretations.

🤔 Mental shortcuts and core values play a key role. Republicans' focus on social order may lead them to see disruptive protests as threatening, while Democrats' emphasis on individual rights might make them view them as vital for democracy.

⚖️ "Saving democracy" frame colors perceptions. When people believe democracy is threatened, they use this belief to justify their views on political events. The same event can be seen as a defense of or an attack on democracy, depending on pre-existing loyalties.

📈 Affective polarization significantly amplifies partisan views. Those with the coldest feelings toward the opposing party held the most extreme evaluations of both the BLM protests and the January 6th events. Even independents' views are influenced by emotional attachments.

#PoliticalPolarization #USPolitics #Democracy