The Political Culture of Democracy in the Americas, 2016/17: A Comparative Study of Democracy and Governance

Edited by:

Mollie J. Cohen, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Latin American Public Opinion Project Department of Political Science Vanderbilt University Noam Lupu, Ph.D. Associate Director, Latin American Public Opinion Project Associate Professor, Department of Political Science Vanderbilt University Elizabeth J. Zechmeister, Ph.D. Director, Latin American Public Opinion Project Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor, Department of Political Science Vanderbilt University

August 2017

This study was performed with support from the Program in Democracy and Governance of the United States Agency for International Development. The opinions expressed in this study are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the point of view of the United States Agency for International Development.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................................. vii  List of Tables .................................................................................................................................................................. x  Preface ............................................................................................................................................................................ xi  Prologue: Background to the Study .................................................................................................................. xiii  Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................ xvii  Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ xxiii  Technical Note ...................................................................................................................................................... xxvii  Chapter 1.  Support for Electoral Democracy in the Americas .................................................................. 1  I. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1  II. Main Findings ............................................................................................................................... 2  III. The Basic Tenets of Electoral Democracy........................................................................... 2  Support for Democracy in the Abstract ...................................................................... 4  Rules of the Game: Support for Coups under High Crime and Corruption ........................................................................................................................... 7  Support for Executive Coups ....................................................................................... 10  IV. Support for Democratic Institutions: Elections and Parties ........................................ 13  Trust in Elections ............................................................................................................ 14  Participation in Elections .............................................................................................. 17  Trust in Political Parties ................................................................................................ 19  Partisanship...................................................................................................................... 23  V. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 26  Chapter 2.  The Supply of Basic Liberties in the Americas .............