European Citizens’ Conceptions of Democracy: The Explanatory Power of Non-Democratic Political Socialization

How does a country’s authoritarian past influence what conceptions of democracy people hold? Research shows that socialization in a non-democratic political system has a negative impact on support for democracy and influences what citizens expect democracy to be. For Germany, it has been shown that political socialization in the former socialist system of East Germany leads not only to a more socialist, but also a more populist conception of democracy among citizens. Given the success of populist radical right parties across Europe in recent national and European elections, it is questionable whether this is a Germany-specific observation, or whether political socialization in an authoritarian regime generally leads to more populist attitudes. Using data from Round 10 of the European Social Survey, this paper analyses differences in conceptions of democracy for people socialized in Western European, Southern European, and Eastern European countries that experienced democratization at different points in time. The results suggest that political socialization in a non-democratic system indeed leads to higher support for a populist conception of democracy, but there are differences depending on the type of authoritarian regime in which citizens were socialized.