How citizens’ experience of democracy can actually pave the way to democratic backsliding
Why do many citizens of Western Europe appear complacent about their societies’ democratic backsliding? This behavior can be at least partly explained by the effect of personal experience on risk perception: a stable democratic past lulls humans into a false sense of security. Why do many citizens of Western Europe appear complacent about their societies’ democratic backsliding? One explanation is the effect of personal experience on risk perception: a stable democratic past lulls humans into a false sense of security.
Authors
- Stephan Lewandowsky (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1655-2013)
- Ralph Hertwig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9908-9556)
Institutions
- University of Potsdam (DE)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Psychology
- Published
- 2025-10-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-025-00327-1
- Primary Topic
- Electoral Systems and Political Participation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- European Commission