Support for Democracy and Understanding of Democracy in Post-Soviet Eurasia

With the popularization of the notion of democracy in general and the spread of the concept of electoral or minimalist democracy, the number of regimes who based on fulfilling the basic requirement of holding regular elections can be attributed to the group of democracies has grown. Respectably, many populations surveys show that the share of citizens who express their nominal support for a democracy has essentially grown all over the world as well. But what exactly citizens mean when they say they support a democratic regime in their country? This paper employs the World Values Survey (2017-2021) and Eurasia Barometer (2021) survey data to examine the prevailing understandings of democracy in the countries of Post-Soviet Eurasia. The WVS has been offering to the respondents a set statements which describes how things can happen with respect to people’s rights, economic policies etc. Based on this module two indexes have been built. Index combining liberal notions of democracy defines democracy as civic freedoms that entitle people to a self-determined life and give them a voice and vote in politics. By contrast, illiberal notions of democracy combine autocratic elements which define democracy as obedience to the “guardianship” of rulers whose authority defies constitutional checks, public criticism and electoral contestation. This index also includes cases when democracy is strongly associated with the introduction and outcomes of economic welfare policies. Illiberal notions of democracy and high economic expectations have been grouped into category of “misperceptions of democracy”. Misperceptions of democracy are widespread in many post-Soviet countries. Why these misperceptions are dangerous? For many reasons, but foremost because authoritarian notions of democracy question the authenticity of liberal notions when both are endorsed conjointly. Moreover, the authoritarian notions reverse the meaning of support for democracy, indicating support for autocracy instead. Prevalence of misperceptions of democracy in the people’s mindset acts as a reinforcement of an authoritarian regime and makes autocratic elements in the country’s governance legitimate. High expectations from a democracy in terms of economic welfare are also dangerous and imply regime fragility when not civil liberties and the rule of law, but other outcomes, predominantly those related to people’s material wellbeing are seen desirable. Obtained findings are complimented by the analysis of Eurasia Barometer survey where respondents are presented with four questions designed to measure their understanding of democracy. For each question, respondents are asked to choose which of the four response items describing different definitions of democracy (freedom and liberty, norms and procedures, good governance, and social equality) most closely corresponds to their own understanding of democracy.