Public support for democracy: Results from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems project

While democracy looks set to become the global political norm, most studies have analysed the phenomenon from either a micro (voter) or a macro (institutional) perspective. The Comparative Study of Electoral Systems aims to combine these two perspectives in order to address key questions about the process of democratization. This special symposium uses the second CSES module, conducted between 2001 and 2006 in 38 countries, to examine public support for democracy. The eight articles cover three themes in public support for democracy: popular satisfaction with democracy; accountability and system performance; and the participation of social groups. All of the articles underline the importance of understanding the interaction between institutional arrangements and voter behaviour in order to gauge the health of democracy.