Replication Data for The Social Origins of Democracy and Authoritarianism Reconsidered: Prussia and Sweden in Comparison

In a large social science literature, unequal rural class structures (\"landlordism\") are associated with authoritarian political outcomes. This paper revisits the debate, focusing on the landlords' ideological domination of the lower classes and anti-democratic attitudes in estate-dominated areas. We contrast the authoritarian landlordism model with a perspective where inequality fosters leftist mobilization if landlords fail to assert hegemony. Analyzing Prussia and Sweden–often seen as opposites in terms of their rural class structures–we challenge the view of Sweden as egalitarian, showing its agrarian inequality was similar to Prussia’s. Examining within-country correlations between land inequality and electoral support for Conservatives, Nazis, and voter turnout, we find no evidence supporting the authoritarian landlordism model. Instead, our results emphasize the role of popular mobilization in Sweden and landlords’ weakening influence in Prussia.