Social and economic determinants of support for a strong non-democratic leader in democracies differ from non-democracies
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Xuereb, Silas
Wohl, Michael J. A.
Stefaniak, Anna
Elgar, Frank J.
Abstract / Description
A growing body of evidence suggests that support for a strong non-democratic leader is driven, in part, by low economic development and economic inequality at the country level, and low income and interpersonal trust at the individual level. In the current research, we tested the hypothesis that although such a pattern predicts support for a strong non-democratic leader in democracies, it should produce decreased support for a strong non-democratic leader in non-democracies (where the presence of such leaders is the political status quo). Using three waves of World Values Survey data (2005-2020), as predicted, we found that in democracies, low economic development, high inequality, and low interpersonal trust predicted support for a strong non-democratic leader. However, in non-democracies, support for a strong non-democratic leader was higher in more economically developed countries and among individuals with higher social trust. These results contradict modernization theory’s proposition that development promotes support for democratic rule and suggest that economic development reinforces support for the existing political system.
Keyword(s)
strong leaders social capital modernization authoritarianism democracyPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2021-08-26
Journal title
Journal of Social and Political Psychology
Volume
9
Issue
2
Page numbers
334–352
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Xuereb, S., Wohl, M. J. A., Stefaniak, A., & Elgar, F. J. (2021). Social and economic determinants of support for a strong non-democratic leader in democracies differ from non-democracies. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 9(2), 334-352. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.7235
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jspp.v9i2.7235.pdfAdobe PDF - 2.21MBMD5: 42fc246a62c566699357efc9943ae785
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Xuereb, Silas
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Wohl, Michael J. A.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Stefaniak, Anna
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Elgar, Frank J.
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2022-04-14T11:24:19Z
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Made available on2022-04-14T11:24:19Z
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Date of first publication2021-08-26
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Abstract / DescriptionA growing body of evidence suggests that support for a strong non-democratic leader is driven, in part, by low economic development and economic inequality at the country level, and low income and interpersonal trust at the individual level. In the current research, we tested the hypothesis that although such a pattern predicts support for a strong non-democratic leader in democracies, it should produce decreased support for a strong non-democratic leader in non-democracies (where the presence of such leaders is the political status quo). Using three waves of World Values Survey data (2005-2020), as predicted, we found that in democracies, low economic development, high inequality, and low interpersonal trust predicted support for a strong non-democratic leader. However, in non-democracies, support for a strong non-democratic leader was higher in more economically developed countries and among individuals with higher social trust. These results contradict modernization theory’s proposition that development promotes support for democratic rule and suggest that economic development reinforces support for the existing political system.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationXuereb, S., Wohl, M. J. A., Stefaniak, A., & Elgar, F. J. (2021). Social and economic determinants of support for a strong non-democratic leader in democracies differ from non-democracies. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 9(2), 334-352. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.7235en_US
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ISSN2195-3325
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/5670
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.6274
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.7235
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Is related tohttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.5053
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Is related tohttps://osf.io/6puam/
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Keyword(s)strong leadersen_US
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Keyword(s)social capitalen_US
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Keyword(s)modernizationen_US
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Keyword(s)authoritarianismen_US
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Keyword(s)democracyen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleSocial and economic determinants of support for a strong non-democratic leader in democracies differ from non-democraciesen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue2
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Journal titleJournal of Social and Political Psychology
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Page numbers334–352
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Volume9
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Visible tag(s)Version of Recorden_US