Growing Up Democratic: Does It Make a Difference?

What explains differing levels of support for democracy in postauthoritarian countries? Do young people value democracy simply because they have grown up with it? Or do older generations, having experienced the alternative, value democracy more highly? Does the socialization of new generations into the norms of democratic citizenship herald the normalization of democratic governance? Or have frustrations with political corruption and economic stagnation led to the rejection of democracy or, at a minimum, the view that it is irrelevant? These questions are at the heart of this groundbreaking study of the impact of generational change on support for democracy and opposition to authoritarian rule in countries and regions around the world.

Growing up democratic? / Robert Mattes, David Denemark, and Richard G. Niemi -- Southern Europe : elite-led culture change / Richard Gunther and José Ramón Montero -- Latin America : the modest dividend of growing up democratic / Alejandro Moreno and Marta Lagos -- East Asia : variable support for democracy in a diverse region / John Hsieh and Jih-wen Lin -- South Asia : an arm's length embrace of democracy / Sandeep Shastri, Reetika Syal, Suhas Palshikar, and Shreya Sarawgi -- Eastern and Central Europe : growing up communist, learning to be democratic / William Mishler, Richard Rose, and Natalia Matukhno -- Sub-Saharan Africa : the positive impact of effective democracy / Robert Mattes -- Advanced democracies : the erosion of traditional democratic citizenship / David Denemark, Todd Donovan, and Richard G. Niemi -- The Arab world : the challenges of political Islam / Eleanor Gao -- China : the impact of modernization and liberalization on democratic attitudes / Min-hua Huang, Yun-han Chu, and Cao Yongrong -- Generational change in post-authoritarian democracies? / Robert Mattes, David Denemark, and Richard G. Niemi.