Political Stigma in Liberal Democracy: Developing a Novel Measure and Testing its Relevance Using a Natural Experiment

Political stigmatization is the discrediting of political attitudes and behavior. Our study develops a novel measure of experienced political stigma related to political stances and demonstrates its relevance and validity. Using unique nationally representative Dutch survey data (n=4,704), we map its: 1) prevalence; 2) socio-economic and political underpinnings; and 3) consequences. We identify multiple socioeconomic antecedents of experienced political stigma and show that it is experienced on both sides of the political spectrum. In addition, we find that experienced stigma is associated with political distrust, weak support for democracy, and support for aggression against government. Furthermore, our study 4) tests the relevance of experienced political stigma through a natural experiment. For the first time in Dutch history, a coalition was installed that includes a radical-right populist—and stigmatized—party, the Party for Freedom (PVV). Among individuals experiencing political stigma, the announcement that the four parties engaged in coalition talks reached an agreement increased support for liberal democracy and decreased their support for aggression against government, highlighting the positive impact of shifting norms on democratic support among this group. We conclude by presenting avenues for future research on the novel concept of political stigma.