Finkel, S., Neundorf, A. and Rascon Ramırez, E. (2023) Can online civic education induce democratic citizenship? Experimental evidence from a new democracy. American Journal of Political Science, (doi: 10.1111/ajps.12765) (Early Online Publication)
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Abstract
How can democratic values and behavior be induced in new democracies? We designed and tested three original civic education interventions to answer this question, using Tunisia as a case study. Participants were recruited through Facebook and Instagram, where they were randomly assigned to either one of three treatment groups or a placebo. Two treatments were derived from prospect theory, emphasizing the gains of a democratic system or the losses of an autocratic system. A third treatment, derived from self-efficacy theory, provided practical information regarding participation in the upcoming 2019 elections. Our findings suggest that online civic education has a considerable effect on democratic citizenship, including a significant reduction in authoritarian nostalgia and increasing intended political behavior. We further find differences between the three treatments, with the loss and gain treatments having overall more consistent impact than self-efficacy, though the latter frame has notable effects on political efficacy and registration.
Item Type: | Articles |
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Additional Information: | This research was generously funded by the Middle-Eastern Partnership Initiative (MEPI) of the US State Department and partially funded by the ERC Consolidator Grant ”Democracy under Threat: How Education can save it” (DEMED) (grant number: 865305). Research was carried out with the support for the headquarters and local Tunis office of Democracy International, a US-based NGO. |
Status: | Early Online Publication |
Refereed: | Yes |
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Neundorf, Professor Anja |
Authors: | Finkel, S., Neundorf, A., and Rascon Ramırez, E. |
College/School: | College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics |
Journal Name: | American Journal of Political Science |
Publisher: | Wiley |
ISSN: | 0092-5853 |
ISSN (Online): | 1540-5907 |
Published Online: | 25 January 2023 |
Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2023 The Authors |
First Published: | First published in American Journal of Political Science 2023 |
Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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