Negative Partisans and Regime Legacy: The Effects of Political Background

• In Event: Polarization and Democratic Decline

Abstract

We know that our historical background and how established our system is matter when we behave as positive, negative, or any other type of partisan (see Rose and Mishler 1998). Systems’ backgrounds can incentivize positive partisanship alignments but also breed negativity. I expect that systemic elements will affect negative partisans and their perceptions of their democracy too. The background of the regime is another piece that will differentiate negative partisans because political transition never comes without baggage. All baggage is different because democracies built on ideological post-communist regimes are not the same as those with a background of one-party rule or the imposition of a military regime. Transitional paths are followed through institutional pacts materialized by authoritarian successor parties and those parties that are the product of the new regime and the effect of their presence over satisfaction among negative partisans. Results showed that the regime’s status plays an important role when negative partisans ponder how their democracy is performing. In addition, animosity against the parties that are a product of the new system has a negative effect on the perceptions of how democracy is performing. Negative partisans disliking a successor party are less dissatisfied with how democracy is performing in comparison to those disliking one party of the new regime.

Author

• Eliza Osorio, Purdue University