Conceptualizing and Measuring Support for Democracy: A New Approach
This paper introduces a new way to measure support for democracy by using 17 survey items tied to the eight components of liberal democracy from V-Dem, tested across 19 countries. The results show cross-national variation in how these items relate to each other, with weaker connections often reflecting the impact of political events and actors. The authors also identify a shorter set of seven questions that reliably captures support for liberal democracy across diverse contexts.
May 1, 2025