Can online civic education induce democratic citizenship? Experimental evidence from a new democracy

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
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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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
310325DEMEDAnja NeundorfEuropean Commission (EC)865305S&PS - Politics