ORCID

0000-0002-9834-2396

Keywords

democracy resilience, democratic values, anti-democratic attitudes, populism, illiberalism

Abstract

Why do individuals who support democracy also endorse populist and illiberal attitudes? Current literature focuses efforts on exploring the role that institutions and political actors have in democracy resilience (Levitsky & Ziblatt, 2019; Merkel & Lührmann, 2021). However, relatively few academic works have examined this phenomenon at the individual level. With the aim to exploring the causal effect between individual political attitudes, anti-democratic threats, and democratic resilience at the individual level, this study applies a micro-level theoretical approach to assess how individuals’ political attitudes toward populism and illiberalism affect their support for democratic values. To test the hypotheses, this study analyzes data from the seventh wave (2017-2022) of the World Values Survey cross-analyzing the cases of Brazil and the United States. The main findings indicate that institutions and political actors have a substantial impact on individual political behavior, which, in turn, shapes support for democratic values. Ideological alignment also influences tolerance for anti-democratic actions, with political polarization exacerbating threats to democratic norms, especially in the United States. While this study is, to some extent, limited by endogeneity issues and survey constraints in capturing the full complexity of political behavior, it contributes to the literature by emphasizing the role of individuals in democratic resilience. Future research should further explore how political engagement and societal mobilization interact to either sustain or erode democracy.

Completion Date

2025

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Knuckey, Jonathan

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs

Identifier

DP0029411

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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