Fiddling while Democracy Burns
Partisan Reactions to Weak Democracy in Latin America
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6323744 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Matthew Singer (0000-0002-7048-9003, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 9-26 |
| Publication date | 2023-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Perspectives on Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1537-5927 • E-ISSN: 1541-0986 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s1537592721002899 |
| OpenAlex | W4200253361 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 28 |
| References cited | 79 |
Democracy is weakened when citizens and elites do not criticize actions or actors that undermine its principles. Yet this study documents a widespread pattern of partisan rationalization in how elites and the public evaluate democratic performance in Latin America. Survey data show that those whose party controls the presidency consistently express positive evaluations of the current state of democratic competition and institutions even when democracy in their country is weak. This pattern emerges in both mass survey data and among elected elites. These data have a worrying implication: if only the political opposition is willing to publicly acknowledge and sound the alarm when democracy is under attack, public pressure to protect democracy is likely to be dramatically reduced
Democracy · Latin Americans · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Presidency · Rationalization (economics · Representative democracy · Sociology · Survey data collection · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Politics and Society in Latin America · Public Administration
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| Unique citing works | 28 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 7 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 28 |