Satisfaction with democracy: do institutions matter?

Aarts, Kees and Thomassen, Jacques (2008) Satisfaction with democracy: do institutions matter? Electoral Studies, 27 (1). pp. 5-18. ISSN 0261-3794

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Abstract:	Previous research has shown that people in consensual democracies with a proportional electoral system are more satisfied with the functioning of democracy in their country than people in majoritarian democracies. We assess to what extent this relationship can be explained by people's perception of the accountability and representativeness of the political system in their country. Our findings show that people's satisfaction with democracy primarily depends on their perception of the representation function, and to a lesser degree on the accountability function. Surprisingly, perceived accountability rather than representation is enhanced by a proportional-type electoral system. Moreover, our evaluative measure of satisfaction with democracy is negatively related to proportional electoral systems. The macro-level satisfaction with democracy is primarily affected by the age of the democracy one lives in.
Item Type:	Article
Copyright:	© 2008 Elsevier
Faculty:	Management and Governance (SMG)
Research Group:	Political Science and Research Methods (POLMT)
Link to this item:	http://purl.utwente.nl/publications/76867
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2007.11.005
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