Public support for democracy in the United States has declined generationally

Claassen, C. and Magalhães, P. C. (2023) Public support for democracy in the United States has declined generationally. Public Opinion Quarterly, (doi: 10.1093/poq/nfad039) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

Support for democracy in the United States, once thought to be solid, has now been shown to be somewhat shaky. One of the most concerning aspects of this declining attachment to democracy is a marked age gap, with younger Americans less supportive of democracy than their older compatriots. Using age-period-cohort analysis of 12 national surveys collected between 1995 and 2019, we show that this age gap is largely a function of a long-term generational decline in support for democracy, with little evidence of an independent life-cycle effect apparent. The combination of generational decline without a positive and counterbalancing life-cycle effect offers a sober prognosis of how support for democracy in the United States might look in the future.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Pedro C. Magalhães was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, grants UIDB/50013/2020, UIDP/50013/2020 and LA/P/0051/2020.
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Claassen, Professor Christopher
• Authors: Claassen, C., and Magalhães, P. C.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: Public Opinion Quarterly
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• ISSN: 0033-362X
• ISSN (Online): 1537-5331
• Published Online: 15 September 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © The Author(s) 2023.
• First Published: First published in Public Opinion Quarterly 2023
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license
• Data DOI: 10.7910/DVN/HVYTNM