Public Tolerance for Anti-democratic Behavior

• In Event: Evaluating Public Support for Democracy

Abstract

What motivates the public to tolerate undemocratic actions by political leaders? Conventional answers highlight material (e.g., results-oriented considerations), ideational (e.g., populist worldviews), and party-centered explanations. We consider how norms of reciprocity (tit-for-tat) can lead the public to see undemocratic moves as justifiable, and even democratic, when they follow similar behavior by a first mover. The paper brings together new data from the 2023 AmericasBarometer regionwide survey and online experiments in Colombia, Peru, and the United States. The results extend our perspective on the extent to which universal tendencies around tit-for-tat dynamics generate latent tolerance for undemocratic behaviors, which can be capitalized upon by entrepreneurial populists.

Authors

• Noam Lupu, Vanderbilt University

• Eli Gavin Rau, Tecnológico de Monterrey

• Elizabeth J. Zechmeister, Vanderbilt University