SFDN - The Social Foundations of Democratic Norms

One of the drivers of democratic backsliding is voters who prioritize supporting co-partisan politicians over candidates who are willing to protect democracy. Do democratic norms hold the capacity to shift this calculus back in favor of democracy? This project argues that norms may pressure citizens, including those who hold a weak commitment to democracy, to overcome partisanship and support politicians who protect democracy. A survey-experiment is run in the UK on Prolific to examine if revealing a respondent’s vote choice to others shifts their support of undemocratic candidates. It includes a behavioral measure of the willingness to sanction supporters of undemocratic candidates.