Socialization and Political Regimes: the Impact of Generation on Support for Democracy in Latin America

Studies on democratic attitudes in Latin America indicate that older citizens are more likely to express a preference for democracy. This contradicts part of the literature, which suggests that the greatest support should come from younger generations, who were socialized under democratic regimes. One possible explanation for the greater support for democracy among the older generation is that they experienced the repression of political and civil rights under authoritarian rule, thus creating an aversion to such regimes. In this article, we replicate tests conducted by other studies in evaluating the effect of generation on support for democracy, using data from the 2012 Americas Barometer. In addition, we add a new factor to the analysis: the country's authoritarian legacy, measured as to the duration and intensity with which individual and political rights were curtailed in the past. The results show a complex picture. First, they confirm that the generations that have lived under authoritarian regimes are more likely to support democracy. However, we find no evidence of an increase in the difference in support between generations in countries where the authoritarian legacy is stronger. Finally, the data indicate that countries with stronger authoritarian legacies exhibit less support for democracy, while stronger democratic legacies have the opposite effect.

针对拉丁美洲民众民主态度的相关研究表明，年长公民更倾向于表达对民主的偏好。这与部分学术文献的结论相悖，此类文献认为，最支持民主的群体应是在民主体制下完成社会化的年轻一代。对于年长群体民主支持度更高这一现象，一种可能的解释是，他们曾在威权统治下经历过政治与公民权利遭到压制的处境，由此对这类政权产生抵触情绪。本文依托2012年美洲晴雨表（Americas Barometer）数据集，复刻其他研究开展的、针对代际因素对民主支持度影响的检验工作。此外，我们在分析中新增了一项影响维度：一国的威权遗产，其衡量指标为该国过往对个人权利与政治权利的压制时长与压制强度。研究结果呈现出复杂的态势：其一，我们证实了曾在威权政权下生活过的代际群体，更倾向于支持民主。然而，我们并未发现，在威权遗产更为厚重的国家，代际间民主支持度的差距会出现扩大。最后，数据显示，威权遗产更强的国家，民众对民主的支持度普遍更低；而民主遗产更为深厚的国家则呈现出相反的趋势。