Populism Versus Science in Competitive Authoritarian Regimes

Abstract This article explores the linkage between populist, authoritarian tendencies among citizens and people’s dispositions toward the scientific community. It particularly focuses on competitive authoritarian (CA) countries. The article underlines the commonalities between populism and competitive authoritarianism and aspires to explore the inclinations of the voters of populist incumbent parties in competitive authoritarian regimes. In light of an empirical analysis that covers more than 10,000 participants in competitive authoritarian regimes from 9 countries throughout the world, the article examines the correlates of people’s viewpoints about science in CA countries. The findings strongly suggest that supporters of populist incumbent parties are more likely to hold reservations about science. We also find that the supporters of strongly populist parties in CA regimes are less likely to have optimistic viewpoints about science.