Iuliana Nyerges

  Wednesday, 13th November 2024

  14:00 - 15:00

   CESS Seminar Room - 3 George Street Mews

   Measuring Voter Demand for Democratic Reconstruction in States Undergoing Democratic Backsliding: Evidence from Hungary

ABSTRACT

Globally, democracy has been in decline for the past two decades. In response to this erosion, opposition groups have formed and attempted to challenge the power of aspiring autocrats by calling for the reconstruction of democratic norms and institutions. This project aims to analyse how voters assess politician commitments to reconstruct democracy in states undergoing democratic backsliding. Using an online conjoint survey experiment set in Hungary, the paper will measure the salience democratic rebuilding is for voters, compared to other policy dimensions. I will argue that voters support politicians committed to democratic reconstruction, but that this support is conditional on partisanship alignment and policy distance. Understanding the direction and magnitude of public support for reconstructing democracy is useful in order to explain the variation in success of past opposition candidates, while also being necessary for informing the strategy of future movements.