How polarization, populist attitudes, and cultural backlash affect citizens’ support for democracy: Evidence from Spain
ABSTRACT In recent years, substantial scholarly attention has been devoted to understanding the consequences of three increasing phenomena on democratic legitimacy: populism, polarization, and cultural backlash. While the literature has widely acknowledged the common roots of the three phenomena an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Revista Internacional de Sociología |
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| Online Access: | https://revintsociologia.revistas.csic.es/index.php/revintsociologia/article/view/1304 |
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| author | Irene Palacios Brihuega Antonio Garrido Rubia Antonia Martínez Rodríguez |
| author_facet | Irene Palacios Brihuega Antonio Garrido Rubia Antonia Martínez Rodríguez |
| author_sort | Irene Palacios Brihuega |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT
In recent years, substantial scholarly attention has been devoted to understanding the consequences of three increasing phenomena on democratic legitimacy: populism, polarization, and cultural backlash. While the literature has widely acknowledged the common roots of the three phenomena and the way they mutually influence each other, little is known about their empirical relationship at the attitudinal level. Using data from Spain, this article examines whether and how affective polarization, populist attitudes, and cultural backlash values are connected to citizens’ attitudes, and the extent to which they affect support for democracy as the best form of government. The results indicate that holding consistently populist views, conservative cultural values, and being affectively polarized is particularly harmful for democracy when this attitudinal pattern is maintained by younger individuals. We discuss the implications that socialization in democratic environments marked by frequent populist rhetoric and rising polarization might have on younger generations’ democratic commitment.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9a8f813802c74a50b08f78b67de5f59d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0034-9712 1988-429X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista Internacional de Sociología |
| spelling | doaj-art-9a8f813802c74a50b08f78b67de5f59d2025-02-05T06:52:24ZengConsejo Superior de Investigaciones CientíficasRevista Internacional de Sociología0034-97121988-429X2025-02-0182410.3989/ris.2024.82.4.1304How polarization, populist attitudes, and cultural backlash affect citizens’ support for democracy: Evidence from SpainIrene Palacios Brihuega0Antonio Garrido Rubia1Antonia Martínez Rodríguez2Universidad de MurciaUniversidad de MurciaUniversidad de MurciaABSTRACT In recent years, substantial scholarly attention has been devoted to understanding the consequences of three increasing phenomena on democratic legitimacy: populism, polarization, and cultural backlash. While the literature has widely acknowledged the common roots of the three phenomena and the way they mutually influence each other, little is known about their empirical relationship at the attitudinal level. Using data from Spain, this article examines whether and how affective polarization, populist attitudes, and cultural backlash values are connected to citizens’ attitudes, and the extent to which they affect support for democracy as the best form of government. The results indicate that holding consistently populist views, conservative cultural values, and being affectively polarized is particularly harmful for democracy when this attitudinal pattern is maintained by younger individuals. We discuss the implications that socialization in democratic environments marked by frequent populist rhetoric and rising polarization might have on younger generations’ democratic commitment. https://revintsociologia.revistas.csic.es/index.php/revintsociologia/article/view/1304affective polarizationvaluesdemocratic attitudespopulismradical right |
| spellingShingle | Irene Palacios Brihuega Antonio Garrido Rubia Antonia Martínez Rodríguez How polarization, populist attitudes, and cultural backlash affect citizens’ support for democracy: Evidence from Spain Revista Internacional de Sociología affective polarization values democratic attitudes populism radical right |
| title | How polarization, populist attitudes, and cultural backlash affect citizens’ support for democracy: Evidence from Spain |
| title_full | How polarization, populist attitudes, and cultural backlash affect citizens’ support for democracy: Evidence from Spain |
| title_fullStr | How polarization, populist attitudes, and cultural backlash affect citizens’ support for democracy: Evidence from Spain |
| title_full_unstemmed | How polarization, populist attitudes, and cultural backlash affect citizens’ support for democracy: Evidence from Spain |
| title_short | How polarization, populist attitudes, and cultural backlash affect citizens’ support for democracy: Evidence from Spain |
| title_sort | how polarization populist attitudes and cultural backlash affect citizens support for democracy evidence from spain |
| topic | affective polarization values democratic attitudes populism radical right |
| url | https://revintsociologia.revistas.csic.es/index.php/revintsociologia/article/view/1304 |
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