Are competent citizens critical democrats? Political resources and evaluations of democratic institutions

This article examines how cognitive resources such as internal efficacy and political knowledge relate to citizens’ ability to evaluate democratic institutions. Using original survey data from the United States (<em>N</em> = 1093), we find, first, that internal efficacy is associated with more positive assessments of democratic institutions in general. Conversely, political knowledge is associated with more discriminating assessments of specific institutions. Third, political knowledge moderates the positive impact of internal efficacy. Finally, while partisan and ideological reasoning are present in citizens’ evaluations of democracy, greater political knowledge is associated with more nuanced assessments of democratic institutions across parties and ideological orientations. These results suggest that increasing cognitive resources can contribute to the development of critical citizens capable of identifying undemocratic features of their political systems.<br>