Process / pipelineinstitutional-attitudes
Democratic Support Scale
The Democratic Support Scale measures citizen commitment to democracy as a regime type, including beliefs that democracy is the best system of government, willingness to defend democratic institutions, and rejection of non-democratic alternatives. Pioneered by Norris (1999) and Dalton (2004) in comparative research, the measure distinguishes regime support (belief in democracy's superiority) from performance support (satisfaction with current government). It addresses the paradox of 'critical citizens'—in advanced democracies, people often express dissatisfaction with current government performance while maintaining deep commitment to democratic principles.
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Sources
- Dalton, R. J. (2004). Democratic challenges, democratic choices: The erosion of political support in advanced industrial democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. link ↗
- Norris, P. (1999). Critical citizens: Global support for democratic governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press. link ↗
- Gibson, J. L. (2004). Constraining the Klan: Civil society and the limits of democratic tolerance. In P. B. Baltes, N. J. Smelser, & P. B. Baltes (Eds.), International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences. Oxford: Elsevier. link ↗