New research provides evidence that ethnic antagonism has a substantial negative effect on Republicans’ commitment to democracy.
“To anyone familiar with decades of research documenting the public’s shallow attachment to democratic norms, that seemed very unlikely.
Bartels analyzed responses from 1,151 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who participated in an online survey in January 2020.
Economic conservatism, cultural conservatism, partisanship, and even enthusiasm for President Trump are much less important in accounting for Republicans’ anti-democratic attitudes,” Bartels said.
The survey items with the strongest link to anti-democratic views were not measures of attitudes toward Trump.
The findings suggest that ethnic antagonism plays an important role in the erosion of support for democracy in the Republican Party.
The study, “Ethnic antagonism erodes Republicans’ commitment to democracy“, was published September 15, 2020. »