Identifying sources of democratic legitimacy: A multilevel analysis

Democracy enjoys a significant base of popular support in the 41 country samples covered by CSES Module II. While higher levels of support for democracy seem to be a defining feature of the established democracy, the emerging democracies including post-communist regimes also enjoy a solid base of pro-democracy sentiment. The endurance of many emerging democracies is not under any immediate danger because popular belief in the superiority of democracy is not susceptible to the ups-and-downs of government performance or short-term economic fluctuation. Our analysis also demonstrates that all three theoretical perspectives, modernization/postmodernization, institution, and rationality, are indispensable for a comprehensive understanding of the sources of democratic legitimacy for both established and emerging democracies. However, most of the theoretical predictions based on a narrow conception of ‘utility-maximization’ turn out to be less relevant. Instead, our analysis shows that performance-based legitimacy is a function of a more diffuse basket of political goods including freedom, accountability and representativeness.