Voter’s policy preferences during democratic backsliding in Israel: the role of affective division around the political leader

The number of democracies in the world has declined over the past decade, prompting experts to use the terms ‘crisis’ and ‘erosion’ to sound the alarm about democratic politics. Even in developed countries with well-established democracies, political leaders are disregarding the rule of law and human rights, favouring their supporters, and excluding their critics. Behind the phenomenon of a democratic recession lies a loss of national unity and a polarization of societies over political values. In Israel, where there is the affective division around Prime Minister Netanyahu, what policy preferences do his supporters and opponents hold? This is the research question of this study. To answer this research question, my laboratory conducted a conjoint survey experiment. In the experiment, we present a hypothetical situation where different democratic values conflict due to social polarization and measure participants’ choices. We address this issue using Israel as a case study, where anti-democratic legislation have been enacted in the last decade.