Satisfaction with Democracy and Interpretation of Democracy in Hungary

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate Hungarian citizens’ associations with democracy through the data of the Participation, Representation, Partisanship (NKFI-119603) research. Beyond examining Hungarian citizens’ interpretation of the concept the paper also explores correlations to political beliefs, economic performance and demographic differences. We also present the change in satisfaction with democracy and partisan polarization over time in Europe, using data from the European Social Survey (ESS). Our results, in line with party polarization theories, prove that satisfaction with democracy is related to political preferences: pro-government voters are far more satisfied with democracy than opposition voters. Among the examined European countries, the difference is outstandingly large in Hungary, moreover, it has been growing steadily in recent years. However, partisanship prevails not only in terms of satisfaction with democracy, but also regarding the interpretation of democracy. Pro-government voters described democracy in different words than opposition voters, who came across as very disappointed in 2018.