Theories of democratic legitimacy argue that people who believe the government is well
managed and represents their interests are likely to defend the democratic status quo …

Institutional and behavioral theories of democracy abound but rarely intersect. Do executive
lawmaking power and prowess condition democratic regime support in presidential …

Democracy is weakened when citizens and elites do not criticize actions or actors that
undermine its principles. Yet this study documents a widespread pattern of partisan …

When can we realistically expect ordinary people to check the authoritarian ambitions of
elected politicians? An answer to this question is key to understanding the most prominent …

Democratic elections are designed to create unequal outcomes: for some to win, others
have to lose. This book examines the consequences of this inequality for the legitimacy of …

This article summarizes some of the key findings from a forthcoming book, Democratization
by Elections: A New Mode of Transition?(Johns Hopkins, 2009, edited by the author) …

Political scientists for more than two decades have worried about declining levels of citizens'
support for their regimes (legitimacy), but have failed to empirically link this decline to the …

Why do citizens in democracies fail to punish political candidates who openly violate
democratic standards at the ballot box? The bulk of existing research has focused on …

This article explains why dissatisfaction with the performance of individual politicians in new
democracies often turns into disillusionment with democracy as a political system. The …

How does the ability of a democracy to adequately represent its citizens influence public
support for the regime? Since the essence of a democracy is to represent its citizens, there is …