Replication Data for: As time goes by, the same sentiments apply? Stability of voter satisfaction with democracy during the electoral cycle in 31 countries

Popular consent is an essential element for the success and stability of democracies. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that “electoral winners” (i.e., voters casting a ballot for government parties) are more satisfied with democracy than supporters of the opposition parties. However, little is known about the dynamics of satisfaction during the electoral cycle: do winners become happier and losers even more discontent over time? We approach this question by utilizing administrative variable – interview date – included in the European Social Survey (Rounds 1 to 8) to position individuals within the stages of the electoral cycle. The results based on 199,207 responses from 199 surveys in 31 countries suggest that the satisfaction with democracy remains relatively stable during the electoral cycle across various electoral systems if the political circumstances are predictable. However, if the actions of the parties are uncertain: that is, the alternations of governments tend to be frequent, partial, and open to all parties, and hence neither winners nor losers know how steady their status is with respect to the political situation in the country, their satisfaction tends to fluctuate over time. Therefore, the conclusions reached in the more stable Western European democracies have only limited generalizability to the less-predictable systems in Central and Eastern Europe.